Artist Jarvis Wilcox was striving to “keep it simple” for his show at George Billis Gallery, on view in Fairfield, Connecticut, through December 21. His 15 new paintings depict an array of still life subject matter, as well as country and beach scenes, in which Wilcox engages the viewer through his expert use of lighting and color.
Blood Orange, oil on canvas, 8 x 10”
“In these paintings, I have tried to simplify and declutter; to not include the kitchen sink or ‘everything’ I have to say on a subject, but rather make a simple decorative statement,” Wilcox explains. “[It’s about the] appreciation of the subject. While making simple, straight forward paintings, I have been trying to do the same with themes and ideas expressed in my work.”
In addition, the artist explains that his method of “decluttering” his paintings has led to trying to use fewer strokes of his palette knife. “These paintings (all but one) are entirely done with one palette knife. I lay down each color with one stroke of the knife.”
Lemon and Blueberries, oil on Masonite, 8 x 10"
We see Wilcox’s vision, or rather, the simplification of his vision, shine brilliantly in the small study Blood Orange—depicting exactly what the title suggests, and executed in the artist’s textured and bold style. “Other than the exoticness of the blood orange, I don’t have any idea what [first inspired] me to paint this piece, [yet] the farther I went, the more intrigued I became with the colors, textures and strangeness of the fruit.”
Peonies, oil on linen, 32 x 30"
In the boldly colored and eye-catching Peonies, Wilcox shares that the subject is his favorite flower. “Peonies are beautiful, as are the foliage and the odor—the heavenly odor!” He says. “They are so soft and pregnant with the promise of the summer to come. This appreciation was what I was trying to paint in the chalice, [set] against a somewhat threatening sky. This painting is as straight-forward a statement as I could make. The table brought to mind the plowed, fecund earth from which the peonies came.”
Beach Day 2, oil on linen, 24 x 30"
Much like Blood Orange, the show piece Lemon and Blueberries is also a simple small-scale study of fruit. “The original impetus to do this painting was an exercise in complimentary colors, but eventually the set-up became an illustration of a teacher and his/her students. [The vision] didn’t come until I was almost finished.”
Overall, Wilcox believes that “the poetry of painting lies not in the images presented, so much as in the emotional connections stimulated…made real by each viewer’s individual, unique response to the [image],” he says. “Art, any art, is a unique means of communicating and experiencing intuitive and/or subjective knowledge and understanding.”
View the entire body of work at George Billis Gallery's Fairfield, Connecticut, location through December 21. —
George Billis Gallery
1700 Post Road • Fairfield, CT 06824 • (212) 645-2621• www.georgebillis.com
Powered by Froala Editor
