Marc Aronson, Dawn of Awakening, oil and iridescent pigment on canvas, 46 x 57 in
MARC ARONSON
i.e. is pleased to present Marc Aronson in this, his first exhibit with us. Aronson recieved his BA in Bellingham WA at Western Washington University in 1971. The next 4 decades were spent in New York where he pursued his academic and art career eventually obtaining his PHD in Arts from NYU. Aronson enjoyed many years as an active member of both academic and artist communities in NY and beyond, including exhibiting at OK Harris Gallery. He and his family have returned to the Pacific Northwest settling on Orcas Island where he continues to paint inspired by local landscapes.
Marc Aronson paints in oil on panel or canvas, occasionally incorporating iridescent pigment, building layers and removing coats to create contemplative abstract paintings with luminous planes of color. His work is reminiscent of William Turner's in the sparseness of detail yet richness of atmosphere and mood.
Marc Aronson statement on this body of work:
REPHRASING
My paintings rely on the process of redoing an image, destroying and restoring, or the “rephrasing” of a painting. This rephrasing produces a work which is rife with references to the history of its own making. A comparison might be Rome. Like a palimpsest, Rome exhibits the nuances its development. Rome exposes its references to its own past history, where ancient, Byzantine, and Renaissance Rome are still visible.
What all this adds up to is not only the look of aging and the revelation of the making or history of the work, but through the layers of paint an internal light is produced. It is this imagined light that is my memories of a particular place. Likewise, in shifting place, moving from New York to the Pacific Northwest, I have been struck by the constant, immediate presence of natural beauty, and have lately incorporated my response to the landscape in my work
Marc Aronson, Tuesday, oil paint and iridescent pigment on canvas, 21 x 26 in, 2017
MIKE SCOTT
Mike Scott, Blue Large Disc, maple burl, natural one side, blue milk paint on reverse, 20 x 21 x 7", 2020
i.e. welcomes back Mike Scott's for his third exhibit as he continues his sculptural exploration from his home on Whidbey Island. Scott is a native of Oxford, England. In 1982, while a student at Crewe and Alsager in the UK he was introduced to the wood turning lathe and had an immediate connection to the process. The lathe became the central tool for his creativity. This led to his first solo exhibit in 1986 at Leeds Craft and Design Gallery. He has continued to be shown and collected worldwide. He made Whidbey Island his home in 2010.
Scott works with the burl, or knot, of trees. He shapes them on the lathe. But as he says the burl often dictates what it wants to be. He sometimes adds metal found objects, burnishes the wood with oil or ebonizes it creating luminous work that appears to be from a lost civilization.
Mike Scott on this body of work:
The most notable change in my work of late, has been the use of color. the application of layers of milk paint over a textured surface has allowed some interesting color effects. And a light application of white oil paint on an otherwise dull brown heavily fissured surface, gives the impression of a flurry of snow in a canyon.
In addition I have made some substantial improvement to the machinery I use, enabling larger pieces to be turned. I have also been working with a lot of highly distressed and degraded Madrone Root Burl. This huge Root was a challenge, cutting it into suitable size pieces, with the fact that any root is embedded with rocks, dirt , and other earth debris, meant, firstly trying to dig out as much of the dirt as possible before approaching it with the chainsaw. Inevitably the saw would hit something hidden deep within, and would have to be sharpened frequently, whilst further attempts made to dig out the offending stones. Slow work, and very frustrating, but the wood lent itself so well to my preferred style, that of rugged, heavily textured, ancient looking vessels that might have been dug up in an archeological dig.!...."
Mike Scott, Red Pot, madrone burl, milk paint, 2020
