Archive for the ‘R Mars’ Category

A Lively Coexistence

Saturday, February 8th, 2014

“Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.”
— Pablo Picasso

My passion seems to be split between collage as artifact (the artistic specimen) and collage as painting (the artistic surface). I revere the pioneering giants whose work must be carefully conserved, but also continue to be impressed and inspired by Cecil Touchon, Robert Mars, Teri Dryden, Zach Collins, and other contemporary artists who successfully bring a painterly approach to our medium. In order to release a mixed-media collage from beneath the traditional glass barrier, it is necessary to find a proper protective coating to balance visual appeal and durability. Because I work with found material, I have had to learn what kinds of ingredients can handle direct exposure (for an effect similar to the painted surface). Some are too vulnerable and require framing behind glass. Both types of artwork are represented in my new solo exhibition, Ingredients Reclaimed. The example shown here, layered above the conventional canvas and stretcher, relies on wet-to-wet contact of adhesive and gesso to firmly seat the “scrap.” Using a series of light-touch applications, a coating of matte acrylic sealant tops off the piece.
 

A Lively Coexistence
collage on canvas by J A Dixon
11 x 14 inches
available for purchase
 
Purchase this artwork!

An exhibition in Durango.

Saturday, January 12th, 2013

My appreciation to Cecil Touchon for including one of my works in a collage exhibition at the Durango Art Center. Cecil has said, in his typically understated manner, “I just grabbed some things off the walls at the archives, with the thought of techniques used as examples for the upcoming workshop, which is sold out already … and I also wanted to show the international nature of the collection.” He often refers to the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction, but not to his impressive labor as a preservationist and his effort to raise the profile of the medium during its centennial year.

Plate Touchonics ~ J A Dixon

Plate Touchonics
collage on canvas
by J A Dixon
12 x 12 inches
collection of the
Ontological Museum