In the Wake of Shadows

by Nichole M. Christian

Joshua Rainer is a young artist just 26-years-old.

We emphasize this fact first more out of astonishment than criticism. In fact, consider this detail a quasi-secret key of unlocking the heart of much of what is on display in Archenemy, a solo exhibition of new drawings and paintings.

At first glance, your eyes will have you believe that Rainer is simply another artist envigorated by the challenges of rendering technically excellent portraits. On that level he does succeed. Though relatively small, the exhibition is an impressive collection of highly realistic images — eight charcoal drawings on heavy Arches Aquarelle cotton paper and four oil paintings that almost look to be photographs.

But to look again is to join an artist in full exploration of some of life’s most timeless and vexing questions. Rainer comfortably plunges himself— pencil, paintbrush, body, mind — into deep philosophical waters. Think Plato. Think Hegel; Jesus Christ too and you whom Rainer is betting has also tussled with questions of self-discovery; dark versus light, fight or flight.

Rainer is right: No one alive is immune from self-inquiry. But it is often the singular gift of the artist – those willing to travel to and express from the edge – which lifts our eyes to what might otherwise be inexpressible.

“I think a lot about how I go about being a better version of myself, who stands in the way of that and, who do I have to get permission from in order to become that person,’’ explains Rainer, a graduate of the College for Creative Studies. “Ultimately, I arrive at myself. I don’t think I’m alone.’’

For Rainer, the journey of understanding oneself is such a giant and consuming investigation that it drove him to also imagine bigger ways of making art speak. “There are pieces with subjects and ideas that deserve to be done not just well but at scales that hopefully add to the meaning.’’ Archenemy No. 1 and Archenemy No. 2, the exhibition’s signatures literally test the limits of the walls at M Contemporary Art.

Both drawings stand like pillars, each towering in scale, 72 x 48, and stark in execution. The figures are somewhat haunting and purposefully faceless. “I wanted to put the shadow there as this large imposing kind of eerieand deformed figure.’’

Still, it is undeniably Rainer, front and center, vulnerably summoning and sharing a courage much larger than himself or his years. “It looks scary but what you’re seeing is a figure individuating, coming to or realizing their own power and agency over the shadow.’’

He adds, “As long as we live, we grow. One big part of the growth is taking self-inventory of oneself and where we’re at,’’ says Rainer who teaches art part-time for adults and youth at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. “Sometimes we can be the shadow in our own way. At least it’s true for me. That’s what I’m trying to say through these works.’’

Let the viewer be comforted too: This is not a show of narcissism writ large. Rainer takes that question head on, acknowledging how easily the assumption can be made of any artist’s exhibition daring to be self-focused with works featuring artist self-portraits.

“There’s an inherent degree of vanity, even if it’s just a little, in traditional self-portraits. But this is the first time outside of a school assignment that I’ve attempted to include myself. I’m also intentionally looking away from the viewer to suggest that this could be anyone even though it’s me confronting the notion of being one’s own worst enemy.’’

Rainer is similarly intentional about the shadows in the other smaller drawings and paintings accompanying his self-portraits. “They’re friends I know in and around Detroit, but the shadows are also there referencing looser self-analysis, literally illustrations of the introspection I imagine we all confront at some point.’’

In the unfolding of the idea driving the exhibition, Rainer found himself challenged by another big discovery. “I totally underestimated how much of a physical workout it would be drawing edge to edge on such large paper,’’ Rainer says laughing. “Even before you get to drawing, it’s a process just to get the paper flat and sized right and kept clean. I had to improvise a lot.’’ His secret weapon: A collaborative assist from fellow figurative artist and educator Tylonn Sawyer. “He was a huge source of insight and inspiration on how to properly handle such a big challenge.’’

Yet ultimately Archenemy is an exhibition of Rainer on Rainer, an artist intensely investigating art’s ever-present possibility as a portal to discovery. “The shadow is a metaphor for those things that look scary, a representation of the choices we have as individuals. Do we look away out of fear or do we step back to what driving it? We control the shadow or least we can try.’’

Nichole M. Christian is a writer and veteran journalist. She has worked as creative director, editor and lead writer for the Kresge Foundation’s annual eminent artist monograph series. The titles include: A Palette for The People (2021), honoring painter and educator, Shirley Woodson; Wonder and Flow, (2020) honoring ceramicist Marie Woo, and A Life Speaks, (2019) honoring poet and activist Gloria House. Nichole was also coauthor of Canvas Detroit. Her writing also appears in the poetry chapbook, Cypher, summer 2021; Portraits 9/11/01: The Collected Portraits of Grief from The New York Times; the online arts journal, Essay’d; A Detroit Anthology, and Dear Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood.