Roy Germon - Meditations: Water & woods
October 3 - November 2, 2024
Featuring Jimmy Viera: Kinfolk in the side gallery
Opening reception, Thurs., Oct 3, 5-7pm
This new body of work and the title of the show refer to a kind of spiritual practice around my time spent in nature. Along the trails and at the water’s edge, I find solace and am reinvigorated. These places are close to where I live, and I go often. The same spot offers so much to see in changing light, seasons, and weather. I try to bring my feeling of awe and inspiration into the studio where I continue to explore the landscape and wrestle my materials into works that depict my emotional responses and feelings of reverence.
— Roy Germon
Germon is one of the top-notch notables of the new Maine painting. His works are marked by a boldly flickered brush that generally holds tight to the surface and an appreciable sense of sophistication and visual intelligence. Using a chalky palette, Germon’s marks are less about the writhing of the bristles through the paint than about the form of the mark on the surface. In other words, Germon’s marks aren’t dollops, dabs or daubs. They are shapes.
— Dan Kany, Portland Press Herald
Germon grew up in northwestern Connecticut where the landscape was a constant inspiration. He earned his BFA in illustration and painting in l990 from the School of Visual Art in New York City.
(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE; CURSOR OVER ENLARGED IMAGE FOR DETAILS)
Featuring jimmy viera: Kinfolk in the side gallery
One way to stop seeing trees, or rivers, or hills, only as ‘natural resources,’ is to class them as fellow beings—as kinfolk. I guess I’m trying to subjectify the universe, because look where objectifying it has gotten us. To subjectify is not necessarily to co-opt, colonize, exploit. Rather it may involve a great reach outward of the mind and imagination. —Ursula K. Le Guin
When I go out into nature I am struck by just how much is happening. All of the reference drawings for this show were made while meandering through the woods, stopping to check in on various plants and fungi. Because I am visiting the same spots over and over for months or years, I am able to see the changes that one might miss just walking by once. It is rewarding to see new things pop up or to investigate something I might not have noticed the first time.
The title of this show comes from the above quote from Ursula K. Le Guin that I think about quite often. Many of the pieces in this show come from a non-human vantage point. The viewer is often looking through the plant matter with objects taking on a grand scale. I am inviting the viewer to imagine a new context for what they are looking at. What importance does a hollow log hold for a small seedling? How much longer does an insect’s commute take if it has just rained? Why are these plants always found together? Natural systems often diverge from our human sensibilities, but work perfectly for their intended function.
— Jimmy Viera
