Fringe 2018 review: Let the verbal and visual imagery of 'Van Gogh Find Yourself' wash over you

It might be tempting to dismiss an intimate, unassuming experience like Van Gogh Find Yourself among flashier Fringe offerings, but perhaps you should take a slower look, as this show’s titular artistic titan advocates. New York artist/actor Walter DeForest convincingly embodies the influential post-Impressionist painter in a one-man production that is equal parts historical monologue and interactive art class, with a handful of audience members invited onstage to sketch throughout the show.

DeForest divulges biographical tidbits from Van Gogh’s troubled life and tragic death – which his anachronism-aware ego can apparently recall without residual ill effects – bouncing back and forth between time frames and themes. If you’re already a Van Gogh fan, the stories will help fill in the facts behind some legendary tales, including how his ear was amputated by Paul Gauguin and given to a favorite prostitute.

Between the fractured narrative and DeForest’s occasionally impenetrable Dutch accent, the artistically uninitiated may find themselves grasping for a narrative through-line, since DeForest seemed somewhat scattered at his Saturday performance. Better to let the verbal and visual imagery (iconic paintings are projected overhead) wash over you, and embrace Van Gogh’s exhortation to “support artists while they are still alive.”

Van Gogh Find Yourself
VGFY – New York, NY
All Ages
55 Minutes
Gold Venue
Friday, May 18th 5:30pm
Saturday, May 19th 2:45pm
Sunday, May 20th 1:45pm
Tuesday, May 22nd 7:30pm
Friday, May 25th 7:15pm
Saturday, May 26th 2:30pm
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