"Richard Whitlock's oil paintings of toys are at once humorous and nostalgic, while empathetic in their almost human gaze - lovingly painted with accomplished realism. His treatment of the subject, set in dreamy atmospheres lacking a background, lends a warmth that leads one to see these objects as entities, turning still lifes into portraits. At the same time, one may find their set gazes unsettling. In an age where the ambiguity between object-hood and personhood are at an all time high, Whitlock reminds us of our time-honored affection for, and distrust of, facsimiles."
--Amanda Kilmek, Berkeley Art Center
"In the theater the cast follows the action of the script and the story unfolds. For a story I use images I find in newspapers, magazines and books. My paintings echo the photographs but use toys to replace the people in the pictures. I don't change the dolls and puppets to look human...it's a still life... they are what they are and the script changes from viewer to viewer."
--Richard Whitlock
--Amanda Kilmek, Berkeley Art Center
"In the theater the cast follows the action of the script and the story unfolds. For a story I use images I find in newspapers, magazines and books. My paintings echo the photographs but use toys to replace the people in the pictures. I don't change the dolls and puppets to look human...it's a still life... they are what they are and the script changes from viewer to viewer."
--Richard Whitlock
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