NON-OBJECTIVE ABSTRACTION
Modernist traditions of the 20th century have informed my art for many years and continue to do so. From large format watercolors on paper exhibited early in my career at the Everson Museum in 1981:
to smaller works recently presented at Axom Gallery in Rochester:
The rich core of modernist abstraction runs through my painting.
LANDSCAPE
I am fortunate to live and work in an beautiful geographical area. Fair Haven State Park is located only a few hundred yards from my home and studio in Fair Haven, N.Y.
When I retired from my teaching position at SUNY Oswego after thirty two years as a professor of art I had the opportunity to more fully appreciate the beauty of the park and began a routine of daily walks by the shore of Lake Ontario prior to starting work in the studio.
The more I walked the more fully I appreciated the beauty of the great lake, adjacent bay and pond, creek, hills, fields, animal life, woods. The ever changing light and color effecting everything every day.
Soon I felt a strong desire to bring nature into my art practice. This ultimately lead to a series of landscape paintngs which are based on my direct observation of nature.
CONVERGENCE
The two works I am showing in FIFTY LANDSCAPES – This Is and This Remains – are part of a extended decade long series titled CONVERGENCE. The paintings from this series combine and juxtapose modernist abstraction with specific landscape imagery I have experienced in the natural world.
THREE CONCURRENT PAINTING SERIES
For the past year my painting have primarily been focused on non-objective abstraction.
However my interest in nature and landscape painting continues.
The third series, CONVERGENCE, has been mostly in the planning stage rather than active painting in recent months. I anticipate a return in the near future to the series that combines non-objective abstraction and landscape painting.
Stop by Main Street Arts to see Paul’s artwork in our current exhibition, Fifty Landscapes (runs through May 13). View his work online at www.paulgarlandart.com. Paul will also be having a solo exhibition at Axom Gallery during the fall of 2016.
