JAY BURTON TRACY | Paintings
nottorno: detail #52 (from The Ruined Sky), 2014
oil color, piezographic ink, homemade walnut ink, lettering enamel
varnish, polyurethane, gesso on 27-ply wood panel
8 x 10 inches | collection of the artist
varnish, polyurethane, gesso on 27-ply wood panel
8 x 10 inches | collection of the artist
nottorno: detail #51 (from The Ruined Sky), 2014
oil color, piezographic ink, homemade walnut ink, lettering enamel
varnish, polyurethane, gesso on 27-ply wood panel
8 x 10 inches | collection of the artist
varnish, polyurethane, gesso on 27-ply wood panel
8 x 10 inches | collection of the artist
these paintings—from a series of seven—
explore the perceptual and linguistic
oscillations of the post-minimal
image-object, a longstanding interest
of mine, first examined in my graduate
thesis work (1978–1979) and continuing
on through the panel-mounted heliogenic
drawings produced years later in my rural
oregon studio. similar (and often more
explicit) assertions of this formal and
conceptual thread run through many
of my most recent paintings and
mixed-media works on paper.
although these paintings operate inside
an illusory, pictorial space, they also assert
their physical status as three-dimensional
structural objects, aided largely by the
attributes of their supports/substrates—
one-and-a-half-inch-thick, 27-layer
slabs of laminated wood (plywood).
unfortunately, the object nature
of these works is absent in this
virtual presentation. their two-
dimensional faces make their
appearance here instead.
explore the perceptual and linguistic
oscillations of the post-minimal
image-object, a longstanding interest
of mine, first examined in my graduate
thesis work (1978–1979) and continuing
on through the panel-mounted heliogenic
drawings produced years later in my rural
oregon studio. similar (and often more
explicit) assertions of this formal and
conceptual thread run through many
of my most recent paintings and
mixed-media works on paper.
although these paintings operate inside
an illusory, pictorial space, they also assert
their physical status as three-dimensional
structural objects, aided largely by the
attributes of their supports/substrates—
one-and-a-half-inch-thick, 27-layer
slabs of laminated wood (plywood).
unfortunately, the object nature
of these works is absent in this
virtual presentation. their two-
dimensional faces make their
appearance here instead.
goldsmith blocks studio (portland, oregon)
detail #48 (from The Ruined Sky), 2014
industrial paint, oil- and water-soluble pigment, polyurethane, homemade walnut ink
povidone iodine, iron oxide wash, interference, studio dust, gesso on aluminum panel
8 5/8 x 11 inches | private collection
povidone iodine, iron oxide wash, interference, studio dust, gesso on aluminum panel
8 5/8 x 11 inches | private collection
detail #49 (from The Ruined Sky), 2014
industrial paint, oil- and water-soluble pigment, polyurethane, homemade walnut ink
povidone iodine, iron oxide wash, interference, studio dust, gesso on aluminum panel
8 5/8 x 11 inches | private collection
povidone iodine, iron oxide wash, interference, studio dust, gesso on aluminum panel
8 5/8 x 11 inches | private collection
these paintings deliberately
amplify gesture and color inside
the stratigraphy of damage.
certain active chemical
compounds along with other
materials with common uses
outside of art were emulsified—
made part of the paint layers—
in order to recast them as
adventitious visual agents.
the physical, chemical, and optical
qualities of these materials, as well as
their fundamental status as chemically
neutral, physically structural, overtly
medicinal, or completely toxic, lend
these chromatically complex, highly
textured works a subtle
and rich visual power.
the color physics on display
here disorient the viewer's somatic and
emotional responses with every calculation
of spatial depth, relative position, implied
scale and actual distance.
is this a thing or a view? is it inside
or outside? how big or beyond is it?
what, if any of it, is above and what
lies below? if this is a landmark,
how near and how far is it?
amplify gesture and color inside
the stratigraphy of damage.
certain active chemical
compounds along with other
materials with common uses
outside of art were emulsified—
made part of the paint layers—
in order to recast them as
adventitious visual agents.
the physical, chemical, and optical
qualities of these materials, as well as
their fundamental status as chemically
neutral, physically structural, overtly
medicinal, or completely toxic, lend
these chromatically complex, highly
textured works a subtle
and rich visual power.
the color physics on display
here disorient the viewer's somatic and
emotional responses with every calculation
of spatial depth, relative position, implied
scale and actual distance.
is this a thing or a view? is it inside
or outside? how big or beyond is it?
what, if any of it, is above and what
lies below? if this is a landmark,
how near and how far is it?
goldsmith blocks studio (portland, oregon)
