Exhibition Dates: June 7- July 13, 2019
Today Viz City talks with artist Jamie Newton. You have until July 13 to check out his remarkable show at The White Lotus Gallery.
It’s called “Rainwork, Linework & Things with Wheels.” You’ll see a variety of work from playful sculptures to abstract ink paintings made standing out in the rain. Another group of acrylics features wheeled objects painted on fishing manual pages. Jamie says he enjoys including the element of chance in his process:
"And that idea of chance, working with chance, so that it creates an interesting place to be. Particularly if you’re working abstractly, you can put a mark down, react to that mark...so you’re not starting off with a preconceived idea. It’s a way to get out of your own way, so that you can get into that creative space where accidents aren't accidents; they’re a new direction."
Jamie likes to take his love of chance outdoors in the rain to make the rain part of the process.
"So the rain paintings are actually done in the rain. I’ll go out and make the rain part of the process...There’s an element of chance there, and what I really like about it is that it’s a cooperation with a natural process."
Jamie discovered another natural process when he was at Playa in Summer Lake after a big fire that had burned the bunch grass down to its roots leaving the grasses like charcoal brushes. He moved his paper across the tops of these fragile sticks that left a mark as they crumbled into dust. The result is oddly graceful and moving.
You can visit the “Rainwork, Linework & Things with Wheels” show at the White Lotus, through July 13 at 767 Willamette in Eugene.
Viz City is co-produced by Terry Way and Sandy Brown Jensen.
