Jay Hartmann, MFA 2020

March 11-14, 2020

Opening Reception: March 13th, 6-8pm


Untitled, December 2019, Oil Paint on Glazed Ceramic, 15'' x 11''

Untitled, October 2019, Oil, Acrylic and Glass Microspheres on Panel, 7'' x 5''


Artist Statement

My recent work seeks to examine the materiality of paint and the effects of light. The paintings are sensitive to location and light conditions, shifting as the viewer moves through space and time. The works generate a specific, intimate relationship to the viewer over time. The material of the work responds to the viewing space. I utilize glazed ceramic, varnish, thick paint, and other effects that hold onto light, and respond to the varying conditions of the work’s surroundings. These materials relate to each other and combine for a specific effect where the surface is both glassy and textured, immediate and atmospheric.

Anne Truitt writes in Daybook, “Change is easy to convey in writing. In painting a choice of a moment must be made … In order to convey the essence of a whole range of a visual experience in time, I would thus be forced out of naturalistic depiction and into a language of art as complicated as words.” To access the immense complexity of the always moving present I make work to meet viewers in their time. Time is an essential variable. When I examine things that change before my eyes I become aware of my own physical movements, breath and feel placed in time. I know where I am without being in conflict with change.

jayhartmann.com