Ray Perigo - Abandonment Issues

Abandonment Issues

I started work on this shortly after discovering two vehicles in the woods near what was then my home. Both were American, and from the mid-1960s - one appeared to be a Chevy Impala but the other was too deteriorated to identify. These cars had obviously been in this predicament for quite some time, and I was struck both by the beauty of their decay and the possible stories behind why they came to rest in such a way.

The style is an intentional abstraction of these real objects, playing on the fact that the subjects themselves are in such advanced states of decay that they are nearly unrecognizable. Everything the viewer sees is real, and presented in a stylized naturalism - the compositions were chosen to maximize the feeling that these are-but-aren't-quite automobiles.

Oil pastel on paper - approx 18" x 22" - 2010

Role Model

What remains of an old Chevrolet's hood, removed and tossed aside to rot for decades on the forest floor.

Oil pastel on paper - approx. 15" x 22" - 2010

Crushed - Just Crushed

The roof of this car had been caved in at the centerline, the top and bottom of the windshield meeting over the middle of the dashboard. This is the dashboard as viewed from what would have been the passenger window.

Oil pastel on paper - approx. 12" x 18" - 2010

Lights Out

Badly decomposed and damaged fender from an unknown car, possibly the Chevrolet whose hood I found on the forest floor.

The image focuses on the remains of the headlamps, once brightly polished and reflective now look just a part of nature as the leaves within.

Oils on canvas - approx. 22" x 22" - 2010

All Up in My Grille

This subject was discovered jutting out of a partially eroded ravine - it had been buried in the woods many years ago. All that is currently visible is the grille, and most of the front bumper.

Oil pastel on paper - approx. 13" x 22" - 2010

Farewell Ride

View through the ex-driver's door and out the windshied of what I believe to be the owner of the hood from Role Model.

Oil pastel on paper - approx. 15" x 22" - 2010

Benzin

The fuel door, surrounding moldings, and rust from an early 1980s Chevy truck.