NEW YORK — A stash of oil paintings were found earlier this month in the attic of a Red Hook townhome by new owners who found the work strange — in more ways than one. They seem to be the work of a precognitive artist.
“At first, we just thought the art was in poor taste,” said Steve Padilla, who found the paintings while cleaning out the attic. “It’s just not anything anyone would really want a painting of, you know? Not what you want looking at you from above the mantle.”
But on a second look, Steve and his wife Amber realized the paintings were depicting recent news events — yet the paintings seem to have been stowed in that attic for some time. All of the paintings are done in oil in what might be considered a modern take on impressionism.
One depicts the death of what appears to be Remi Davignon-Mortlock, bullet-ridden body lying atop glittering red glass, surrounded by the brick buildings of Elmhurst that loom above, windows and doors resembling mourning, keening faces.
Another depicts the ambush in Washington State when Yamagato security forces were killed by unknown terrorists or mercenaries. A helicopter hovers in the upper corner of the frame, while below, the dead and dying are painted in black and red, contrasting with the green and blue Cascade mountains overlooking the tragedy.
A third painting depicts what appears to be the bombing of the Yamagato Fellowship Building in New York and the Yamagato Tower in Tokyo, the two buildings surrounded by a gold and red glow.
There are two other paintings that do not seem to depict any other recent events of note. The Padillas did not wish to share these at this time. All of the paintings are signed simply with the initials “OG.’
The paintings appear to be approximately ten years old, according to an art historian at Brooklyn College. “There’s a degree of aging that’s visible, especially using lab equipment, but it’s not like there are any pigments no longer in use today, like we can do when we’re looking for counterfeits of classic art,” said Dr. Anh Nguyen.
Regarding the possibility it’s another precognitive painter’s work, she said it wasn’t her area of expertise to comment on, but that “Historically speaking, it’s not impossible.”
The Padillas are currently in keeping of the five paintings and said there is no record of anyone with the initials O.G. connected with their Red Hill house.