After three years of not showing my paintings other than in the recent studio sale I hosted in my home, I have been asked to participate in a show with two or three other painters at B2 Gallery in Tacoma. The show is called Azure, and it will be a theme show based around the color blue (or blue as in sad or depressed or any other interpretation of "blue" the artist may choose.
I chose the easy way. I picked paintings that had a lot of blue in them.
As is often the case, I was asked by the gallery to write a statement about my work. Here's what I wrote:
The paintings in this exhibition are select images from the
final decade of a 40-year painting career. My work reflects a strong influence
of the Abstract Expressionist painters who were at the height of their
popularity during my formative years in college and graduate school — most
notably the influence of Willem de Kooning with his expressive and energetic gestures,
lyrical lines, and peekaboo spatial ambiguities.
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| "Jack's Back," oil on canvas, 1995, 31" x 41" |
Most of my paintings are abstract, but there is always a
figurative aspect with references to human and animal bodies in environments derived
from nature. I try to capture the movement and the felt emotions of people and
animals in their essential activities — the flight of a bird, the sensual
slither of a snake, the explosion of a fish leaping out of water; and the sensuality
of human bodies at rest and in motion.
Visually I try to capture the fleeting balance between
harmonious and contrasting elements: hard and soft edges, smooth and rough
paint strokes, bright and dull colors, precise patterns and atmospheric spaces.
I hope the paintings can be appreciated for their pure celebration of color,
shape and texture.
The show opens Jan. 17. I will post more information when we get closer to the opening.
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