jeffrey hyde

contact: [email protected]

born miami, fla. 1968/attended north carolina school of the arts/visual arts/followed by ten years of travel mostly in asiatic countries and formal studies in japan/returned to u.s. in atlanta, ga. to carry on painting and design work . . . life experience in japan remains most positive and lasting influence on personal and artistic life . . .

after attending the north carolina school of the arts in winston-salem, i traveled extensively in eastern countries, eventually settling in japan. there i was granted a scholarship by the japanese government to study traditional painting. while living in japan, i also gained an education in carpentry and general construction.
since returning to the united states i have continued to adapt and develop the japanese techniques that i learned, combining them with various experimental media. i have also supported myself working as a carpenter and designer serving the arts community.

the themes underlying the pictorial content of my work draw on my experience of and appreciation for traditional cultures and their highly symbolic arts, some of which continue to survive into ‘modern times’.
while ideas concerning social conscience and traditional values inspire and inform how i think about my work, the process of painting itself is, for me, strictly meditational; even therapeutic. to be deeply involved in the crafting of something is to channel those energies of thought and, moment by moment, to give them positive form; to lend meaning from a ‘higher’ spiritual energy, which is the idea or inspiration, into a ‘lower’ material energy, which is the crafted product.
it has been said that “there is a difference between asking questions and demanding answers”; thus, there is in the notion of inviting, rather than capturing, the creative energy, an admission that this kind of energy may in actuality be using us, and that we should respect and enable it, not necessarily claiming it as our own. the demanding attitude will in the end be counter-productive; only if the process invites an answer will the resulting artwork be in accord with the spiritual purpose that has been envisioned for it.

*** distemper of dry pigment with a binder and water. this is a permanent medium much like that of traditional tempera painting.***

this method of painting I learned during a short term of study under Japanese master Toda, Koichi. following his instruction, my approach to the process of painting certainly changed and began to conform with traditional principles which do not necessarily separate art from craft, or art from science, as being, conceptually, mutually exclusive endeavors. although the materials and techniques of traditional Japanese painting have an unique quality, they are similar to those employed in many cultures prior to the advent of oil painting. ancient painting methods such as encaustic and tempera are still practiced by some modern painters. the english term ‘distemper’ is used to describe the manual mixing of dry pigment with a binder and water in order to create a temporary suspension of the pigment. once the paint is applied, the water will evaporate, leaving the pigment again dry; having the same appearance as when in its unmixed state. the surface quality, being soft and porous, absorbs all light, the reflection of which is so diffused as to appear no reflection at all. this is caused by the slight tooth of the surface of evenly distributed pigment. preparation of materials is a meditative process that extends into the completion of the picture, the application of paint being necessarily methodical. (due to the properties of the suspension, more than one brush stroke over a given surface area will only remove the pigment that has been applied). following this participation in the fixed patterns of work required by the medium, the content of my pictures also relates to descriptions of systems and cycles of the operative world; the ‘cosmos’; an ancient greek word which I would interpret fancifully in this context as meaning ‘theatre of ordered events’. whether there be, for events, an arena or an horizon, how we construe and re-present these becomes our culture and thus our degree of humanity is revealed.

etowah art gallery cartersville georgia group show 1995

broyles art center gallery atlanta georgia solo show 1996

nomad gallery atlanta georgia group show 2001

studio biba gallery atlanta georgia solo show 2002

spruill gallery dunwoody georgia group show ‘looks good on paper’ 2003

momus gallery atlanta georgia group shows ‘works on paper’ and ‘remember my name’ 2004

stan mccollum gallery atlanta georgia solo show ‘stillness in motion’ 2012

stan mccollum gallery atlanta georgia solo show ‘burning midnight oil’ 2014

balance design gallery atlanta georgia dual show 2016