jhart

drawing/painting – design/construction

symbol unites what is figurative with what is abstract – a visual vocabulary derives meaning from objects or ideas seen as symbols – anything can become a meaningful symbol within a given context – the true meaning is in the gesture of expression…and the nature of impression

my work is influenced by an interest in how ancient cultures expressed their knowledge and beliefs through myth, ritual, and their arts . . .

‘carriage’ collage with distemper on paper 30x22in

‘garden diagram’ ink on paper 12x9in

colloquiumgallery now showing

colloquiumgallery is founded on an interest in the possibility of narrative in art.
in traditional narrative arts, a story is represented.
any image, object, or gesture, may become a story by itself, depending on perception : on the impression that is made.
impression, and the expression that causes it, are thus together the medium of meaning in all narrative arts ; and, color, structure, choreography, are media that realize the possibility of narrative in art.
the influence of environment changes the story : experience, as the theme of story, is shaped by this dynamic of interaction with environment : a seed is planted, expected to grow ; but the result is essentially unknown : it hasn’t happened yet, just like the next part, or the end, of the story.
still, when story is repeated, then narrative is fixed, temporarily ; a dynamic balance has been achieved. that is the key to tradition, a kind of suspended disbelief, which must be held in order to find meaning, beyond entertainment.
a tradition does not have to be dead, it can always be born anew ; it can be alive and creative ; it can survive.
it is hoped that colloquiumgallery will evolve as a nexus of conversation about tradition and change in contemporary social culture ; that is, preferably, a culture determined by meaningful narrative, and respect for the environment.

inspired by the natural environment in the city, and also by the dramatic cinematography of early black & white films, i have been walking and taking photographs for a virtual sketchbook of light and shadow.
here is a section on trees i have met in the city of chicago,

represented as monotype portraits:

and abstracted in collage/painted figures:

: ‘dancing tree’ mix media on canvas 40x52in

: ‘enchantment’ diptych 80x52in left panel

: ‘enchantment’ right panel mix media on canvas

following images are from ‘burning midnight oil’ – solo show at stan mccollum gallery

: ‘flowers I’ collage w distemper on panel 32x40in

: ‘flowers II’ collage w distemper on panel 32x40in

: ‘flowers III’ collage w distemper on panel 32x40in

: ‘flowers IV’ college w distemper on panel 32x40in

: ‘travelin man’ collage w distemper on panel 22x19in

some images from two recent solo shows both @stan mccollum gallery in atlanta;

from ‘stillness in motion’ december-january 2012-13

‘a shadow does not shift . . . where the light arrives, the shadow disappears. if it exists, it would be at rest forever.’

from an ancient chinese literary tradition, the problem is that ‘the shadow of a flying bird never moves.’ the cast shadow derives its apparent motion only from the flight of the bird, and it cannot move by itself or participate in any kind of exchange of material energies. nevertheless, the shadow is a fact, and as an idea, it can have these properties and powers. the ‘flying-bird’ is the mind . . .

: ‘day and night’ diptych collage w distemper on panel 42x48in

: ‘standing’ collage w distemper on panel 48x48in

: ‘archetype’ collage w distemper on panel 22x30in

: ‘stillness in motion’ diptych (left panel only) collage w distemper on panel 72×96″

from ‘burning midnight oil’ december-january 2013-14

these paintings are meant to be an expression of mental landscape as seen by an archaeologist or a student of
history in any field of research.   as studies develop for the researcher, outlines of understanding are gradually filled
in, combining reason with imagination to create a picture with all possible completeness, and along the way
various impressions might emerge as attempts are made to imagine the existing evidence within a non-existing
context. imaginative reasoning discovers this context as it can, and thereby brings back into existence evidence of
the continuity of human cultural endeavor and, as i feel it, of the persistence of a spirit that we share.   no one, i think,
wants to inherit the wind. ancient cultures expressed their knowledge and beliefs
through myth, ritual, and their arts.    i sense that these represent their efforts to preserve something of value for future generations.