Jeff Bye: Vanishing Points
November 3 - 26, 2022
Jeff Bye attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) for his undergraduate degree and spent a year abroad in Italy under the European Honors Program. He received his MFA in painting from The School of Figurative Art, also known as The New York Academy. He is still the youngest Master to be indoctrinated into the Copley Society of Boston at 26 years old where he was given his first solo show.
My latest body of work entitled “Vanishing Points” embodies my ongoing project of capturing New York City from challenging perspectives. In gaining access to buildings’ rooftops and stairwells, or by exploring angles from various bridges in the five boroughs, I am searching for fresh and unfamiliar views of familiar architectural sights. My love of texture is a constant in the work, and I’m fascinated by the way the rough surfaces of these structures’ exteriors remain vital and visible through the ever-changing layers of graffiti and dirt. These colorful and sometimes ugly patinas capture moments in time that have passed, as they are obscured or erased in the harshness and perpetual change of the urban environment. This is somewhat analogous to the prior layers of paint that come through when creating a painting. It’s this constant flux that inspires an artist to always carry a sketchbook and camera and, with no advance knowledge of what to expect from one visit to the next, to keep curiosity alive, remaining open to what could potentially be subject matter for a painting.
For this body of work, I continued to visit these environments at different times of day, researching how mood and lighting changes the energy of these places. I’ve made numerous sketches and taken countless photographs to document the color and tonality of the different surfaces. I took that information and created this series of paintings. I feel that every body of work is challenging in the way my paintings develop and progress, as I attempt — both consciously and unconsciously — to keep the painting constantly open to changes and shifts. This is made possible by my process, in which I repeatedly travel to these places, not only at different times of the day, but also in different seasons, observing how the light and weather affect me as well as the environments depicted. This keeps the paintings from becoming static, and allows them to breathe. It also creates space for me to make spontaneous changes, as necessary, to capture a sense of ephemerality. No matter how subtle a change might be, it alters the painting in its entirety. This process is intrinsic for me as an artist and facilitates the creation of a painting that stands as an object in its own right with its own life — and not just as a very literal document of a particular scene.
I’ve created a new series within my body of urban paintings in tribute to graffiti artists. The movement and energy expressed in tagging or bombing has always captured my interest, and graffiti has been a staple feature in my urban cityscapes. I have personally been witness to this phenomenon while inhabiting certain areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. I’ve also connected with certain taggers through Instagram, which is mutually beneficial, in that it allows them to send footage or tell me where they will be working so I can experience their creations first-hand and present them in my paintings before they morph or disappear. In observing this series, one might note that the figures of the graffiti artists are blurred with their backs to the viewer; their clothing is mundane, their posture and gestures dynamic. All of which contributes to a sense of motion. In addition to capturing their movements, this method also conveys the surreptitious nature of their craft and the constant danger of being apprehended by the authorities. This tension and the urgency inherent to the conditions the graffiti artists work in drives the spontaneity that characterizes their artwork; one senses their directness and lack of hesitation in making aesthetic choices. For me, it comes down to the wonderful colors and shapes fashioned by these street artists, and the gritty under-structure of the urban buildings’ textured surfaces. All of the above encompasses my attitude toward my subject matter and my process of using my own medium, oil paint, in a way that is direct and true to the spirit of the city I love.
~ Jeff Bye
(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE; CURSOR OVER ENLARGED IMAGE FOR DETAILS)
Bernd Haussmann - Of(f) Nature
All my work is of nature.
I am of nature.
We are of nature.
Art is of nature.
Every thing is of nature.
Everything is of nature.
And yet we seem to think we are not.
We act and behave as if we were not of nature.
We are off nature, removed from it, and hopelessly stuck in our human made illusions.
We are at war with ourselves. We are at war with each other. We are at war with nature herself.
We have created the nature that we think we are and are desperately trying to keep up appearances, at all costs, by continuously feeding those human made illusions.
We cannot see the true nature of nature.
We are off nature.
ART is not a product.
Art is a practice. A lifestyle. A guide. A friend. A teacher.
Art is alive. Art is awareness, action. Art is realization, reflection, respect.
Art is trust, total truth.
I trust in the power and value of ART, its qualitative nature, the qualia of ART to guide us back into our true nature, the nature of which we are.
- Bernd Haussmann
Bernd Haussmann is a German-born abstract artist, working since the 1990s as a US resident and now dividing his time between the north shore of Boston and western Maine.
(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE; CURSOR OVER ENLARGED IMAGE FOR DETAILS)
