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May Issue 2007
Robert Lange Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Works by J.B. Boyd
Robert Lange Studios Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Trees, featuring a new series of works by J.B. Boyd, on view from May 4 - 28, 2007. The exhibit takes an introspective and emotional look at the relationship between trees and sky. For the past year Boyd has been investigating this relationship in a series of ten paintings, culminating in this highly anticipated exhibition.
Boyd highlights the unexpected forms of trees through a contemporary application of photography coupled with extreme dimensions. Then using oil paint, Boyd creates paintings that evoke the scale of the lush countryside, yet are delivered in a tightly cropped modern package. For instance, one panoramic painting boasts over 350 trees on a panel the size of eight dollar bills laid side-by-side.
"In Chinese there is one symbol for both trees and sky and it's only in the context that you can differentiate. It is that relationship that fascinates me, how one defines the other," said Boyd.
Boyd's work has been compared to Precisionism, a movement that emphasized the linear precision he employs in his depictions. His paintings emulate the feeling of a post WWI Charles Sheeler, where in the same progressive manner as Sheeler's industrial spaces, Boyd creates landscape paintings.
"The subject matter, landscape, implies a certain kind of painting, but that's not what JB creates," said gallery owner Robert Lange. "It's not only the dimensions that JB chooses for his paintings that make them unique in the landscape world but how he applies the paint in a manicured way."
The first layer of each of Boyd's paintings is a graphite sketch, followed by a light burnt sienna wash that creates in monotone the underlying lights and darks of the image. The artist then slowly works in layers of color, building the tones and hues that saturate his work. The final layer is a glaze of cold wax to leave a soft matte finish and preserve the uniformity of space.
"It is the instant that makes the mosaic of life a reality, and it is the gift of the artist to be able to pick each instant apart, find it, mull it over, slow it down, then refine it into an image that can translate that moment back to the viewer, awaiting a completely new meaning," Boyd said. "This is why I take so much time to paint my paintings, even to the point where I spend hours simply staring at what I have or have not accomplished, making sure that it is just right."
This will be the artist's fourth solo show in Charleston. He has previously been included in collaborative shows both in New York and Los Angeles. Boyd was formally trained at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and spent his first semester at Tyler School of Art. He has been painting seriously since he was sixteen.
Accompanying the show, collectors can expect to find new work by artists Robert Lange and perhaps Gary Grier.
For further information check our SC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/805-8052 or visit (www.robertlangestudios.com).
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