New Large Scale Paintings
Oct 1 - Nov 13, 1999
Starting October 1, The George Adams Gallery will show new works by James Barsness. The exhibition will feature five large-scale paintings completed within the last year: Family Tree, Fox Hollow Road, Little Gods, Little Jimmy, and There was a Farmer.... Varied in imagery - Little Gods resembles a persian rug as embroidered by Dr. Seuss, while There was a Farmer... depicts an elephant supporting a ball of animals while standing on a turtle, all superimposed on a field of Bingo card - thematically each work touches on ways in which adults and children interact in our culture.
As with his exhibition last year, Barsness continues to draw and paint on found paper - maps, bingo cards, and dress patterns - which are mounted onto canvas. New to the work is the addition of books cut to conform to the shapes of the images in two of the paintings - Fox Hollow Road and Little Jimmy - which attach to the painting's surface. In the case of Fox Hollow, a bird's-eye view of a peaceful suburban neighborhood, the books open to reveal images that suggest that all is not as innocent as it seems.
The exhibition will coincide with the publication of a new print by Landfall Press, also included in the exhibition , as well as with the publication of a monograph on the artist with texts by Thyrza Goodeve, Susan Kandel and Richard Raynor.
Exhibition Checklist
Clockwise from the right:
1. Fox Hollow Road, 1998
mixed media, collage on paper mounted on panel
25 x 39 1/2 inches; 26 1/2 x 41 framed
JBARd 39
2. Little Jimmy, California, 1999
acrylic, ink, gold leaf, collage on canvas with books
74 3/4 x 98 1/4 inches
JBARp 22
3. Little Gods 1999
acrylic, ink on rice paper mounted on canvas
109 1/2 x 87 inches
JBARp 21
4. Fox Hollow Road, 1999
acrylic, ink, pencil on paper mounted on canvas with books
76 3/4 x 99 3/4 inches
JBARp 20
5. Untitled (Family Tree), 1998
acrylic, ink, collage on paper mounted on canvas
70 3/4 x 88 inches
JBARp 19
6. There Was a Farmer Had a Dog, 1999
acrylic, ink, gold leaf, collage on canvas
74 x 97 1/2 inches
JBARp 23
7. I Killed the Dinosaurs, 1998
ink, mixed media on paper
26 x 38 1/4 inches
JBARd 40
8. The Serpent of Midgaard, 1999
varnish over aquatint, etching, chine colle
24 x 30 inches
JBARr 01