PRESS:
TREES
Robert Lange Studios
Presents J.B. Boyd’s New Series:
Trees
Solo Exhibition Highlighting The Unexpected Forms of Trees
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (March 16, 2007) — J.B. Boyd, artist
of The Africa Paintings and Dimensions, will unveil his latest show,
Trees, taking an introspective and emotional look at the relationship
between trees and sky. For the past year Boyd has been investigating
this relationship in a series of ten paintings, culminating in a highly
anticipated exhibition from May 4 until May 28, 2007 at Robert Lange
Studios in Charleston, SC.
Boyd highlights the unexpected forms of trees through a contemporary
application of photography coupled with extreme dimensions. Then using
oil paint, Boyd creates paintings that evoke the scale of the lush countryside,
yet are delivered in a tightly cropped modern package. For instance,
one panoramic painting boasts over 350 trees on a panel the size of
eight dollar bills laid side-by-side.
“In Chinese there is one symbol for both trees and sky and it’s
only in the context that you can differentiate. It is t---hat relationship
that fascinates me, how one defines the other,” said Boyd.
Boyd’s work has been compared to Precisionism, a movement that
emphasized the linear precision he employs in his depictions. Boyd’s
paintings emulate the feeling of a post WWI Charles Sheeler, where in
the same progressive manner as Sheeler’s industrial spaces, Boyd
creates landscape paintings.
“The subject matter, landscape, implies a certain kind of painting,
but that’s not what JB creates,” said gallery owner Robert
Lange. “It’s not only the dimensions that JB chooses for
his paintings that make them unique in the landscape world but how he
applies the paint in a manicured way.”
The first layer of each of Boyd’s paintings is a graphite sketch,
followed by a light burnt sienna wash that creates in monotone the underlying
lights and darks of the image. The artist then slowly works in layers
of color, building the tones and hues that saturate his work. The final
layer is a glaze of cold wax to leave a soft matte finish and preserve
the uniformity of space.
“It is the instant that makes the mosaic of life a reality, and
it is the gift of the artist to be able to pick each instant apart,
find it, mull it over, slow it down, then refine it into an image that
can translate that moment back to the viewer, awaiting a completely
new meaning,” Boyd said. “This is why I take so much time
to paint my paintings, even to the point where I spend hours simply
staring at what I have or have not accomplished, making sure that it
is just right.”
This will be the artist’s fourth solo show in Charleston. He has
previously been included in collaborative shows both in New York and
Los Angeles. Boyd was formally trained at the School of the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston and spent his first semester at Tyler School of
Art. He has been painting seriously since he was sixteen.
A festive reception open to the public will be held on May 4, 2007 starting
at 5 p.m. featuring wine and hors d’oeuvres. Accompanying the
show, collectors can expect to find new work by artists Robert Lange
and perhaps Gary Grier.