Dallas’ Undermain Theatre presents Fred Curchack in his one man show, Gaugin’s Shadow. This intriguing look at Gauguin uses his own words, masks, puppets, and video projections of his art to reveal the man behind the myth.
The popular myth is that Paul Gauguin left a lucrative career as a stockbroker and abandoned his wife and five children to pursue his calling as an artist. After a time of painting together, Gauguin deserted his friend Vincent van Gogh, who, that same night, cut off his earlobe and then entered a lunatic asylum. Gauguin left France and lived in Tahiti, where he suffered from syphilis while he cavorted with teenage island girls, struggled with poverty, attempted suicide, fought for native rights, painted some of the greatest masterpieces in the history of art, and died in 1903 at age 54.