Three contemporary artists working in the ancient art genre of the Landscape are showing this June at Partners Gallery. As early as Minoan times landscape became a subject matter of its own and a deep spiritual connection with nature was celebrated in Asian Art and remains a strong thread in modern landscape pieces.
Robert Taylor appreciates the three generations of his ancestors who have guided his visual journey, in light and shadow, through the physical and spiritual geography that is his home, in Mendocino County. His photographic tool of choice is a handmade 8 X 10 view camera, which helps him view the world nostalgically and with reverence for traditional processes and craftsmanship. He is “enchanted with the unique lyrical and expressive qualities inherent in the silver image, where subtle gradations of light and tonal nuance seem to charm the psyche regardless of theme or personal preference.”
James Maxwell is enamored with the media of paint itself that “imparts a vast vocabulary.” He sees painters as visual magicians, and also knows “them as manic science fiction writers who must say what must be said with no extraneous words about the truth of their images.” In the horizontal landscape, James describes “two squares together share a conversation between one another.”
With photographs for reference Jadelle Andrews uses pastels to convey her experience of the landscapes she visits in her travels. It is wilderness that inspires the most awe. Her aim is to help us understand what we may lose if we don’t respect and take care of the wild places.
