Jason Enos

Rob Gonsalves painted the same impossible idea 11 years apart. In The Sun Sets Sail (2001), the arches of a distant bridge gradually become the sails of ships moving across the sea. Gonsalves returned to the concept in Toward the Horizon (2012), replacing the sunset and traditional aqueduct with a moonlit modern roadway. From one direction, it is a bridge carrying a car. From the other, it becomes a fleet of sailing ships. The Canadian artist had studied architecture and worked as an architect before pursuing painting full-time—an influence visible in the carefully constructed perspectives that allow two different realities to occupy the same scene. His work is generally categorized as magic realism rather than conventional surrealism. Top: The Sun Sets Sail, 2001 Bottom: Toward the Horizon, 2012 Artist: Rob Gonsalves