John Hart: Sample

As an artist my primary concern is the formal aspects of art, that is the aesthetics of a painting; the techniques used to establish a sense of order with the painting. Concerns such as composition, perspective, colour, line, visual pathways, the grid, colour balance, variation of pattern and shape are the motivators for me to make art. Development of these features to a satisfying level is of the utmost importance to me. I do my best to avoid subjects that are “loaded” with subjects that have a strong idea or prejudice based in popular culture. I understand it would be impossible to produce any work of art that is free of meaning but I strive for an image that is a distillation, something evocative of, the subject but not the representative of it.

Landscape is problematic for me. The subject, based on hundreds of years of tradition that strives to represent natural scenery, buildings and sometimes depict elements arranged into a coherent composition or expressive form of a time and place in history, leaves me with the challenge to find a way into this genre that has been traversed by so many artists over so many centuries. Where do I go from here? What could I possible add to the conversation that has not been covered before?

The body of work I present is a two-year exploration of a landscape. My intent is to paint landscape that has been broken down into formal properties of colour, shape and line. Opening it up, creating new forms constructed from paper and aluminium foil that become the subject matter of my paintings.

  

Online Exhibition

When

Location

Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, 404-408 Argent Street, Broken Hill, 2880, View Map