Click here to enter the exhibit.


ARTIST'S STATEMENT

One never knows where inspiration will come from.

My “Wave Mechanics” Series started sort of by accident. In the 1980's and early 90's, I used a lot of mechanical imagery in my paintings. For me it was a step towards abstraction since mechanical forms have a naturally abstract, functional beauty to them. A couple of years ago, I decided to revisit this theme and do a series based on mechanical forms but observed through the present-day ‘eye.’ They would have to be totally different from what I had done before. At the same time I was doing a series of paintings that were somewhat "Op Art" in inspiration and dealt with wave motions. So I started thinking about "wave mechanics" as a play on words and decided to combine mechanics and wave type forms. That word-play developed into a starting point for a new series of paintings, and I took it from there.

My “Hilbert Space” Series started very organically: initially I was just playing around with combining two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms in the confines of a single space. I have a huge interest in all things scientific, especially if it involves quantum mechanics. Hilbert Space is the mathematical definition of the multi-dimensional space at the quantum level. I decided that stepping up from a 2- to a 3-dimensional space would be analogous to going from a 3- to a 4- (or more) dimensional space --if the space is properly ambiguous. So I proceeded into this new series of paintings with that in mind. Any dots seen in these paintings represent subatomic particles.

The “Reconstruction” Series --a series of 4 paintings (2 of which were recently purchased by PNC Bank) --evolved out of the “Hilbert Space” Series with an emphasis on architectural elements mixed with geometry. These newest paintings are a quantum shift from what I was doing before. The change was precipitated mostly by a change in medium, from oils to acrylics, which happened in April of 2011. I have used oil paint all my life and never cared for (but never really tried) acrylic paints. In using acrylic paints I had to totally change my approach to painting as well as my expectations. I decided to build my painting compositions with flat planes and linear elements; and by using tape, I would eliminate all painterliness and any sense of modeling.

My oil paintings all have evidence of being painted by hand with a brush, and I never tried to hide that even when doing fairly tight detailed paintings. The extreme precision that comes with taping opened up a whole new area of exploration in my work. I also decided to experiment with color more. The paintings in this series are all non-objective as far as content goes. Drying time for paint is an important issue when it comes to experimentation. Acrylic paint allows immediate revision, as opposed to days or weeks for oil paint. For me that faster drying time was a genuine liberation. It allowed for more spontaneity and experimentation. These new paintings are usually begun in a very expressionist fashion. As a direction starts to reveal itself I begin to tighten up my design and zero in on the precise relationships. I may do a series of sketches or just mentally decide the layering of the forms and the color relationships. These paintings are totally spontaneous with no preconceived notions or intent --- I basically let the painting do itself.

My “Op” paintings happened totally unexpectedly. I was doing a series of paintings based on crumpled striped fabrics which quickly became very Op looking; I simply expanded on it, developing my own kind of Op art in the process.

I think that no matter what style I am working in, all of my paintings have a common sense of composition and overall completeness and sense of focus that makes them undeniably my own. I am quite comfortable with transitioning between styles. I have a lot of different things that I want to say. Exploring and conquering new ground means that I am growing. I never know what my next series will look like. Feeling that I do not have one "Style" gives me much more freedom to discover new things. I am as comfortable dealing with flat planes in a shallow space as in dealing with complicated structures in a deep space. I only impose limitations in the context of a "Series."

-- James Massena March


ARTIST'S RECEPTION - North Gallery:
Friday, January 20, 2012
6 - 9pm

Open to the public

Exhibition runs through February, 2012




RESUME

Born: Cleveland, Ohio
Education: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Cert.
Cleveland State University, BA
Kent State University, MFA

Awards
Ohio Art Prize for painting- 2009

Major Collections
PNC Bank, Cleveland, Ohio- six paintings
Cleveland State University- 5 paintings
Targetronics Corp., Solon, Ohio- 4 paintings

One Man Exhibitions
2012- Tregoning and Co. Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2010 - Beachwood Community Center Gallery, Beachwood, OH
2009 - 1point618 Gallery, Cleveland
2008 - Stocker Center Gallery, LCCC, Elyria, OH
2007 - Asterisk Gallery, Cleveland
2007 - The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York City
2006 - The Pennello Gallery, Cleveland
2005 - ArtMetro Gallery, Cleveland
2003 - ArtMetro Gallery, Cleveland
2002 - ArtMetro Gallery, Cleveland
2000 - Powerhouse Art Gallery, Cleveland
1998 - Powerhouse Art Gallery, Cleveland
1996 - Powerhouse Art Gallery, Cleveland
1993 - Propaganza Gallery, Cleveland
1992 - Powerhouse Art Gallery, Cleveland
1992 - Marquette Street Gallery, Cleveland
1990 - Chelsea Art Gallery, Beachwood, OH
1989 - Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
1988 - Jon Gersted Gallery, E. VIllage, NYC
1987 - The Milkbar, W. Village, NYC
1987 - Avenue A Gallery, E. Village, NYC
1986 - Siesta Key Gallery, Sarasota, FL
1985 - Beulahland, E. Village, NYC
1984 - Simone Gallery, Soho, NYC
1983 - Gallery of the American College, Bryn Mawr, PA
1982 - Zippers, NYC
1979 - Gallery of the L.A. County Superintendent of Schools
1978 - Les Mouches, NYC
1982 - Doshi Gallery, Harrisburg, PA
1981 - The Painted Bride Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Group Shows
2011 - Butler Museum 75th mid-year show, (juried), Youngstown, OH
2011 - The Zanesville Art Museum mid-year show (juried), Zanesville, Ohio
2010 - BayArts 48th annual juried show, Bay Village, OH
2010 - Salute to the Butler mid-year show, Tregoning and Co. Gallery, Cleveland
2010 - The Butler Institute Mid-Year Show (juried show), Youngstown, OH
2009 - OOVAR (juried show), Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH
2009 - The Sandusky Cultural Center "Fresh Paint"
2006 - The Edge Gallery, (juried competition for Cleveland State University alumni, Best of Show award)
2005 - The Edge Gallery, Cleveland
2004 - The Edge Gallery, Cleveland
2003 - Cleveland Photography Biennial, Cleveland State University
2003 - The Edge Gallery, (juried competition for Cleveland State University alumni, 1st place)
2002 - The Dead Horse Gallery, Cleveland
1991 - Chelsea Art Gallery, Beachwood, OH
1989 - Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
1987 - Hiro's Gallery, E. Village, NYC
1987 - Mission Gallery, NYC
1987 - Jon Gersted Gallery - E. Village, NYC
1985 - Kamikazi Club, Soho, NYC
1984 - Frank Bernaducci Gallery, NYC
1983 - The Drawing Center, Soho, NYC
1983 - Andrew Crispo Gallery, NYC
1981 - Andrew Crispo Gallery, NYC
1980 - Philadelphia Art Alliance
1978 - Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1976 - Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1976 - Peale House Gallery, Philadelphia
1976 - Woodmere Gallery, Woodmere, PA

Home

Back