“I find myself often describing and defending the idea of the artist’s hand, over the current trend to show an artist’s “brand.” Like many artists, I explore a lot of creative terrain, not all of which can be executed simultaneously: staining vs. glazing, riotous color vs. monochromatic austerity, etc. Likewise, I draw from an often disparate roster of forms that hold meaning for me, such as the imposed order of the urban grid (I was born and raised in Manhattan) or biomorphic mountains that suggest to me permanence and endurance (as a child I spent summers near the Shawangunks). Further, I use a wide variety of materials, each of which lends its own characteristics to the finished product. With such factors combined, two consecutively executed works may appear to have nothing in common at all; it is only with a body of work, with overlapping similarities, that a viewer can come to understand the underlying consistency. To simplify this phenomenon for my non-artist friends, I often use the analogy of a Venn diagram. It is my hope that an exhibition hinging on this premise will provide a rich experience for audiences of all levels of familiarity with art-practice.” C.J. NYE
On view through November 28.
C.J. Nye, Thy Image, 2014. Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the Artist
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