Current Exhibition

In this new body of work I am creating from a direct connection to the planet’s oceans and a research framework centered on interconnected systems known as hyper-objects. Across every painting in this exhibition the sea is present, often the primary focus but also as a backdrop to another moment or events. The paintings echo the rich history of landscape painting, frequently incorporating direct references from paintings and a myriad of artists such as Vija Celmins, Gerhard Richter, Caspar David Friedrich, Winslow Homer, Hokusai, J.M.W. Turner, Frederic Edwin Church, Inka Essenhigh, and Edvard Munch.

The paintings in mystic sea (primarily oil and wax on linen) allude to sublime moments, connecting us to spaces that feel simultaneously real and unreal. Stepping into the ocean connects us to an entire world, below the surface, across constantly moving currents, a body that lacks finite boundaries. In suggesting an oracle-like quality to the landscape I want to pause and ask - do we look for, listen, or heed what the natural world foretells?

Often working in a large scale to capture the immensity of depicted spaces, the paintings utilize a combination of glazing, scumbling, and other indirect painting techniques that interact with the varied linen surfaces. Each painting’s impetus arises from photographic reference material from the 2023 Arctic Circle artist residency, aboard the Barkentine sailing vessel Antigua. In returning to the archipelago of Svalbard, moving about the land and seascapes, listening to the place - I found the same power, fragility, and ominous warnings that were present on my initial Arctic Circle residency in 2016. Moreover, this research confirmed my interest in the medium of painting as a vehicle to connect audiences to our influence, however remote, on the entire planet’s health.

Shifting to the sea as a site - that is literally connecting the entire globe through its fluid, shifting state - allowed me to expand the focus outside of the polar regions to our everyday experience. As we spend more time within a truly globally connected world, further understanding of the planet as a hyper-object can help inform future personal decisions, governmental policies, and even our romantic tendencies toward the natural world. The work found in this exhibition is an ongoing manifestation of that dialogue.

Exhibition Details

Dates:

Opening Reception - Saturday, September 7th, 2024 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Closing - Saturday, November 2nd, 2024

Location:

J. Peeler Howell Fine Art

3521 Locke Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76107

Gallery Hours:

Monday and outside hours by appointment

Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 - 5:00 PM

Saturday: 11:00 - 4:00 PM

Phone: (817) 386-0638

Gallery Website: J. Peeler Howell Fine Art