Category Archives: Grid Work Paintings

Etherton Gallery – The Artists of Lewis Framing

This summer I was invited by Etherton gallery in Tucson to participate in the exhibition: The Artists of Lewis Framing. The exhibition ran from June 7 – August 27th, and showcased the work of seven Tucson artists who work, or have worked, at Lewis Framing Studio, one of Tucson’s preeminent framing establishments.

lewisartists

Back before leaving for graduate school, I worked off-and-on at the studio in Tucson, which is a kind of hub in the local art community. It provided, and still provides, great framing of art and art objects, but it’s also a place where a lot of institutions, museums, galleries, collectors and artists cross paths and connect with each other.

Owner Bea Mason has built a great business and a great resource for the local arts community. She has also created a positive working environment for the artists she employs. She’s very supportive of them and their artistic pursuits, (even after they’ve moved on from the shop for many years, as I have). I am pleased to have been included in this show, and happy that Terry Etherton mounted an exhibition that not only showcases a lot of local Tucson talent, but gives some much deserved credit to Bea Mason for her support of local artists, and the position she holds in the local art community.

The show was a chance to exhibit with artists I’ve known for many years, but have never had the opportunity to show with, and also nice to have another body of work up in Tucson during my Lebowski Cycle exhibition at University of Arizona Museum of Art. Below are the paintings I had in the Etherton show.

 

Laguna Art Museum Art Auction – Feb 7th

Bush Street 2color(1200)

Spurgeon Tower Rooftops • Joe Forkan 2013 Oil on Linen 48? x 28?

This painting from 2013 is included in the Laguna Art Museum’s upcoming Art Auction 2015, set for Feb. 7th. The week-long Art Auction 2015 preview exhibition is now on view to the public.

Print

Another addition to the Grid Work series, I used a completed observational painting as a starting point. This one is studio view in Santa Ana.

More information about the piece and the series is here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grid Work: Little Corona II

Little Corona II

Little Corona II • Joe Forkan 2013 Oil on Linen 40″ x 40″

This is the second painting I completed based on an observational painting of Little Corona in Southern California. The second painting was an attempt to revisit my initial idea for this series, while changing some of the rules I had established for myself. I started this using the same initial grid and basic color shapes of the first, but intentionally varied the second layer, and broke the grid as the painting progressed. I was curious to see where those early changes would lead the rest of the painting. Each renegotiation of color took the structure of the painting further from the first one, even as I moved to reach a similar overall color dynamic.

Forkan_Little Corona_2012

Little Corona I • Joe Forkan 2012 Oil on Linen 40″ x 40″