Archive for February, 2019

Cursed Machine

Thursday, February 28th, 2019

 

Cursed Machine
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8.25 x 8.75 inches
available for purchase

Yutori ~ a personal perspective

Sunday, February 17th, 2019

“I am immensely influenced by the colors and textures of this little town. There is a softness about the buildings and landscape. Faded by the sun and rain. Mellowed by humidity.”
— Teri Dryden
 

Last year I mentioned that, if possible, I would have stowed away in Teri Dryden’s art supplies when she left for a residency at Shiro Oni Studios in Onishi. The entire notion of a small-village retreat in rural Japan seemed as far-fetched to me as actually hiding in her luggage, so the next best thing was getting to follow her “ARTventure” online. Three years ago, at about the time of the Juxtapose exhibition in which we both took part, she was deliberately shifting from collage making to another period devoted to painting. Would her experience in Asia mark a new phase?

An answer to my question was likely to come this month. My anticipation began to build when I learned Dryden was hanging a show of recent works at B Deemer Gallery in the Crescent Hill neighborhood of Louisville. Dana and I made the opening reception of Yutori a must-attend event on our calendar of winter outings. As soon as I entered the space, I felt surrounded by something I could only sense as ‘mastery,’ and it was the kind of splendid first impression that every exibitor dreams of imparting. When I spoke briefly to the artist, she expressed a conviction that the immersion in Japan had at long last enabled her to “fuse collage and painting” as a single medium.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I was struck by the overall impression of the show, a mood that was independent of the typical urban hubbub of mingling visitors. A serene dynamism emanated from every piece. Each one invited the observer to penetrate its harmony of constrained color, spatial activity, and fluent mark-making.

The blog entries that Teri posted during her residency had captured the spirit and distinctive flavors of an energetic cultural adventure, but her process in the studio would remain unspoken. Now — moving from wall to wall, composition to composition — I could finally share a small measure of something that must have been nearly impossible to describe. It is simply embedded in the work itself. I won’t soon forget how pleasing and rewarding it was to experience firsthand her evolving integration of not only collage and painting, but the metaphysical sense of place within an artifact crafted by hand. What is truly on display at Yutori is how a creative individual’s personal receptivity and high level of spontaneity can artfully harness such a fusion.

If you are anywhere near Kentucky, I urge you to see this show.
 

   
 

   
 

   
 
 
 

An extraordinary fusion
of collage, painting,
and sense of place
is on display at
 
Yutori: New Works
by Teri Dryden

 
 
 

 

Sayonara 1
collage on paper by T Dryden
15 x 11 inches
from her residency at Shiro Oni Studios, 2018

Februllage ~ day ten

Sunday, February 10th, 2019

 
collage experiment (day ten) by John Andrew Dixon for Februllage, a collage-a-day initiative by the Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum

Untitled (layers)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6.25 x 9 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day nine

Saturday, February 9th, 2019

 

Untitled (fragile)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6.875 x 6.625 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day eight

Friday, February 8th, 2019

 
collage experiment (day eight) by John Andrew Dixon for Februllage, a collage-a-day initiative by the Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum

Untitled (hands)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6.625 x 6.625 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day seven

Thursday, February 7th, 2019

 

Untitled (wings)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
7 x 9 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day six

Wednesday, February 6th, 2019

 
collage experiment (day six) by John Andrew Dixon for Februllage, a collage-a-day initiative by the Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum

Untitled (hole)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6 x 8 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day five

Tuesday, February 5th, 2019

 
collage experiment (day five) by John Andrew Dixon for Februllage, a collage-a-day initiative by the Edinburgh Collage Collective and the Scandinavian Collage Museum

Untitled (flowers)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
6.25 x 6.875 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day four

Monday, February 4th, 2019

 

Untitled (leap)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
9.875 x 12.375 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day three

Sunday, February 3rd, 2019

 

Untitled (connect)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
7.25 x 7.875 inches
for Februllage 2019

Februllage ~ day two

Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

 

Untitled (enclosed)
collage experiment by J A Dixon
7 x 9 inches
for Februllage 2019