North Carolina artist Curt Butler likes to think of his work as the union of expressionism and impressionism. “For me, expressionism is the mark, the application, and how that speaks to the subjects. I like this part because it speaks to the layered qualities of what I’m trying to do,” he says. “And the other ideology is impressionism, which allows an image to be one thing at a distance, but then up close to be an entirely other thing. The shift from far to close is just enough to shock you. Together, these two ideologies create a magic for me.”Wading on Perspective, oil and encaustic, 40 x 40"

Butler refers to the “personal iconography” of his work, the shorthand that viewers can read with the brushstrokes or subjects. It’s this subtle language that endears artists to their biggest fans and collectors. It’s what makes people return to works, to gaze into them further and search for shifting meaning and context. “The more you make marks, the more you spend time refining this language,” Butler adds.  

The artist will be showing his newest works at a show opening March 12 at Shain Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is a short drive to Gastonia, where Butler has set up shop in his studio. His new show will feature 25 works and include a number of his favorite subjects, such as views overlooking marshes and wetlands, as well as images of boats, which have a deep significance to the artist. Beached Shade Color Unfolded, oil and encaustic, 40 x 40"

Soft Dusk at Ponderous Gate of West, oil and encaustic, 40 x 40"“Boats are about the vessel, and the vessel is me. I am the boat and I’m the journey,” he says, adding that concept of creative journeys is important to him. “Even just my art itself is a journey, particularly when it comes to the expressionism side of things. I’m always trying to find new techniques to make my marks. Maybe I’ll layer the paint, or splatter it or roll it. At times I feel like I’m inventing new techniques, like taking lines and snapping them against the canvas the way a builder would make a chalk line. At times, my studio feels like a mad scientist’s lab.” Soul in Which to Sail, oil and encaustic, 40 x 40"

One of the works in the show is Wading on Perspective, an oil and encaustic piece showing marshland birds standing on one leg in a shallow pool. There is detail in the birds, their features and the water, but the paint is applied in with a looseness that allows the eye to bounce around in the color and light, to circle around the forms and sort of bob in the water lightly with the subjects. Another work is Beached Shade Color Unfolded, which depicts a series of beach chairs and umbrella from a top-down view that allows the circular stripes of the umbrellas to contrast with the light-colored on one side sand and the chunky shadows on the other. 

The Butler show will remain on view through March 25. —

Shain Gallery
2823 Selwyn Avenue, Suite K • Charlotte, NC 28209
(704) 334-7744 • www.shaingallery.com 

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