Lee Budahl

press release:

Tromp L'Oeil  

Gallery 1308, Union South, 1308 W Dayton St

      "Tromp L'Oeil" features paintings by retired UW Madison Alumni Lee Budahl. The paintings in this exhibit appear so naturalistic that they tempt the viewer to touch them.  As such, the paintings are part of a tradition of trompe l’oeil (fool-the-eye) realism which began in ancient Rome and is still visible in places like computer screens as “shadows” at the edges of rectangular shapes.

Although Dr. Budahl’s paintings may deceive a viewer, the deception lasts only a fraction of a second, since the viewer knows rationally that the picture frame contains only a flat surface covered with paint.  According to the artist, this brief unsureness about  reality opens the possibility for a unique experience. 

Opening Reception Friday, June 12th, 6-8pm 

Exhibition Open 8am - 10pm daily, June 12 - July 28th

Lee Budahl retired in 2004 from the Art Department at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Budahl has been interested in trompe l’oeil naturalism since 1954, when as an undergraduate  at the University of Wisconsin at Madison he saw the work of Aaron Bohrod, the University’s artist-in-residence.