“ABSTRACTION AND RESOLUTION: Three Artist’s Explore the Edge of Visual Reality” John N. Colt, Ruth Kjaer and Faith Lund We are three artists joined in commonality of process and vision on the edge between abstraction and visual resolution of reality. At times it leans more to abstraction but also often suggests and leans into some sort of reality. John Colt’s paintings bounce from objects of nature into fields of abstraction, the in and out, he so often referred to. JOHN N. COLT (1926-1999) As a professor of art at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee for over thirty years, he was renowned not only as a distinguished professor, but also as a prolific artist. He taught at several universities around the world, exhibited his own work frequently in the top museums and left his influential vision to many. His paintings reflect the emphasis on the inter-relatedness of all living creatures. Those observations were especially of tiny creatures close up, the ebb and flow of nature and it’s pulsating rhythms, a sense of magic pervading every locale in the cycle of life. He worked mainly with pastels and the stain technique on raw canvas. He died painting until his last day. FAITH LUND John Colt was my painting concentration professor in Grad School at the University of Wisconsin. I graduated with an MFA, Master of Fine Arts Degree in 1970, starting the program in 1968. He was a major influence on my work and continues to be to this day. Due to his example I developed my own direction heavily influenced by the technique of staining and layering pigment on the canvas. This technique involved as many as 30 layers of color applied to get a sense of depth, richness, and vibrancy. Due to the transparency of layers the viewer is drawn beyond the surface and into the painted action itself. Important is both contrast and subtle transition. One explores an infinite world of interactions and a new way of seeing. RUTH KJAER I became acquainted with John Colt early in my artistic career. We exchanged ideas on art and I was intrigued with his technical methods of painting as well as his approach to the visual world. Quite often I utilized many of his techniques in my own work, that is the staining of the raw canvas. We married and split our time between Milwaukee and a small home in Haiti. It was a place that fed both of us in its rawness and challenged us in its underlying beauty of the place and its people. We searched out and found similar cultures around the world that fed our work. Even though my work has evolved into other realms since his death, I find that I circle back to inspirational ideas that originated with John. I am confident and feel deeply that he would approve. As a teacher, he always loved to see his students finding their own ways of working. My present work, in addition to my exploration of Greek mythology show a development of personal taste for color and texture. Some of my works are largely abstract, or without reference to the representational world. They may depict an “interior” space of dreams or of the subconscious. Some may utilize a richness and freedom to suggest the intense passion of sexuality, love, and emotion. The world I create is hopefully a window into the realm of human spirituality that seeks, in the end, to provide a little catharsis.
Faith Lund
Artist Statement
The artist reacts to his or her surroundings. Via the chosen medium of acrylic paint I non-objectively create shapes, forms, compositions that interact with each other, sometimes in an obscure way other times in a bold energetic fashion. These images float and intermingle. They grow and diminish through the use of color, size, and placement. I create a world where sometimes positive and negative space is reversed through color. I create a world where surface marks create dimension placed upon a sediment of layered images. I create a world where the minute becomes important. Action plays out as organic, biomorphic forms melt into each other creating movement. Emotion renders itself as part of the overall statement. My goal is to create a visual dialog exposing a newly developed language.
Evolution II
Faith Lund Acrylic Stained Canvas 44� H x 48� W
Layering pigment , creating shadows, letting pigment flow, developing drifting interrelationships, bright signal spots of light. Organic movement produces a strong diagonal force.
Transformed Space Faith Lund
Acrylic Stained Canvas 48� H x 31� W
Negative Space becomes positive space with the interplay of shapes and color. Overlapping and growing forms interrelate succumbing to an underlying element. Hot spots dance on top of majestic shapes and bleed into the surrounding areas. Color becomes an important element. One relates the emotion to Morning Light.
Spring Faith Lund Acrylic Stained Canvas 48� H x 25.5� W Literally a statement relating to growth and vibrancy. This piece is full of energy. Each form weather large or small, positive or negative, bright or dull, is vying for attention as is evident in nature regardless of placement. Linear patterns sit on top of sun spotted surface. Color thrives in it’s attempt to expand in a force of nature.
Bursting Faith Lund
Acrylic Stained Canvas 32� H x 28� W
Organic forms rushing to meet, exposing layers of transition. Color plays an important part as it brings negative space forward. This piece is full of action and rigorous statements repeating a rhythm that continues to move ahead almost out of the picture plane which creates an interesting tension.
Floating Faith Lund
Acrylic Stained Canvas 17� H x 19� W
This piece was influenced by sea life and underwater movement created by the waves above and the surface below. It has a slow pulse, but at the same time a lively presence. Silver accents add to the idea of reflection.
Conversations Faith Lund
Acrylic Stained Canvas 50� H x 30� W
From deep depth to rising of visual temperature the work pulsates with interaction, A form of communication exists on different levels. One is led to the intricacies of layered space.
Flora Decomposed Faith Lund
Acrylic Stained Canvas 21 ¼” H x 24 ½” W
One experiences the richness of saturated color as it describes a wilted flower form. One can see through the layering of shapes, textures, and color to the deepest level. A hint of an abstracted landscape exists in the negative space. Glints of sun highlight linear aspects as it touches slivers of forms.
Faith Lund Artist Resume website: www.faithlund.com e-mail: faithalund@gmail.com
DEGREES Bachelor of Education - Art University of Wisconsin - Whitewater 1967 Master of Science - 1969 Master of Fine Arts - 1970 University of Wisconsin
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Museum of Women in the Arts, Archives Washington DC
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Fine Arts Gallery
Wustum Museum Racine, Wisconsin
David Barnett Gallery Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Miller Brewing Company Corporate Office Milwaukee, Wisconsin
TELEVISION
WGGB CHANNEL 40 FALL 2007, Springfield, Massachusetts Tempera 10 Interview, Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield State University
WGGB Reel to Reel Spring 2007 Interview with Ronald Trent Anderson Arno Maris Gallery Westfield State University
WGGB Channel 40 Fall 2006 Spotlight on Brett Osborn Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield State University
WGBY 57, 2000 Springfield, MA Juried Exhibition/ Televised Auction
WMVS-TV Channels 10/36 1989 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Featured Century Artist Televised demonstration of Work and live interview
WTMJ-TV 1971 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Abstraction & Resolution 2016 Three Artists Explore the Edge of Visual Reality East Hampton Center for the Arts East Hampton, MA
Faculty Art Show 2016 Arno Maris Gallery Westfield State University Westfield, MA
Land Escapes 2015 Deerfield Arts Bank Deerfield, MA
Five Narratives 2014 Mass Mutual Springfield, Massachusetts
Faculty Art Show 2013 Arno Maris Gallery Westfield State University Westfield, MA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
“Art for Art’s Sake” Winter 2007 Cooley Dickenson Hospital Northampton, MA
Bon Vivant” Fall 2006 West Bend Art Museum West Bend, Wisconsin
“Works in Progress” 2004 Faculty Exhibition Westfield State College
De Lind Gallery of Fine Arts 1996 Milwaukee Landmarks Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Federal Building 1995 Curated by David Barnett Gallery Milwaukee, Wisconsin
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
First Unitarian Society 1995, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Marco Island Art Association 1994, Exhibition and Lecture Marco Island, Florida
Main Street CafĂŠ 1993, Hartford, Wisconsin
First Wisconsin Banks, 1992, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Trammel Crow Galleria 1992, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Bradley Gallery 1975, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
First Unitarian Society, 1972, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wustum Museum 1971, Racine, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee 1970 Fine Arts Gallery
West Bend Art Museum 1974
Juried Exhibitions
Crossman Gallery 1985 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Bank One Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Art Museum Collectors Gallery Milwaukee, Wisconsin
West Bend Museum of Art 1974 “Women in the Arts�
Wisconsin Women in the Arts 1972 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Crossman Gallery 1996 Alumni Exhibition University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
Ideas/Images, Wisconsin Art Milwaukee, Art Museum
AWARDS
Century Artist 1992 Featured Artist of the Year Representing the State of Wisconsin PBS WMVS Television
Magic Market Place West Bend, Wisconsin First Place 1984, 1985
Robert Rolf’s Purchase Award 1976
Karl Ratzch Purchase Award 1975
Vicinity Invitational First Place, 1969, Purchase Award 1968 Wustum Museum
Creative Arts Exhibition, Second Place 1967 University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
GALLERIES DeLind Gallery of Fine Art 1992- 1999
PUBLICATIONS
Art New England Magazine 2014
Focus Magazine Article 2007, 2014 Westfield State University
Fine Tuning Magazine Featured Artist 1992 Article, Milwaukee Journal
Ideas/Images, Catalog 1991 Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee Journal Newspaper Article and Review
37th Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors Show Catalog 1972 Milwaukee Art Museum
MFA Graduates Catalog 1970
Publications
Manchester Who’s Who of executives and professionals 2004-2005
Milwaukee Journal Newspaper Cover Story Century Artist, article 1992
Phillip Orth Art Collection Catalog Oak Creek, Wisconsin
One Woman Exhibition, Bradley Galleries Article Art Editor Milwaukee Journal
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL STATUS
Professor Westfield State University Art Department teaching studio and art history courses
Westfield State University Art Gallery Director
Practicing artist
John Colt (1925 - 1999)
John was introduced to art at an early age by his parents artists Mary and Arthur Colt who ran the Colt School of Art in Madison, WI. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Colt earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in art from the University of Wisconsin and eventually became a faculty member at the university.
Preferring to work with paint and canvas, Colt was largely inspired by nature. His artwork often portrays elements of the natural world with abstract qualities including luminosity and delicate lines and shapes.
Colt’s artwork has been recognized in a number of ways. He was the recipient of the top award at the Walker Biennial at the Walker Art Center (1966), and was honored with the Top Award from Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors (1973). His paintings have been published in The New Yorker, Art Forum, and Art in America.
Colt’s artwork hangs at a number of institutions including the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Wright Art Museum, and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Whitney NYC and many more. A native of Wisconsin, Colt moved to Amherst, Mass. after retiring from teaching and remained there until his death in 1999.
John Colt
“I put a great deal of emphasis on process – the way it is painted. I try to give a quality of transformation, time lapse change, and metamorphosis.”
He felt that art was a kind of liberation for him. It was a discovery process in which he transposed environmental images, memory images, and occasional dream images. He believed that “there is more out there in the street than there is in the art museum, galleries, or any place where the formalistic culmination of art is.” His pastels and paintings seem to be personal revelations that put this theory into practice.
“There is a flowing, energetic rhythm which is maximized through a broad range of color values, hatched lines, and rounded afferent orbs. However, uniform poetics is not achieved and he uses a temporal polarity of form and content to substantiate my judgment.” Duality is used formally through setting up counterposed structures in the work with reference to top and bottom, left side to right side, lines to lines and dots to dots.
John Colt
By Sea I Pastel 43” H x 35” W
John’s paintings reflect the emphasis on the interrelatedness of all living creatures. Those observations were especially of tiny creatures close up, an intimate space dancing with life that is continually changing, touching, unfolding…the secret, the mysterious, the erotic, the absurd, the ebb and flow of nature and it’s pulsating rhythms, a sense of magic pervading every locale in the cycle of life.
John Colt
By Sea II Pastel 35” H x 43” W
“I wanted the interaction of two diverse creatures in melting, dissolving, gaseous aura. My paintings nearly always involve either one as a solo or monolithic form, or two as a duet or dual or duo – the interaction of companions, lovers, opponents, adversaries; or the interaction of three – manage-a-tois; three exactly alike (triplets), two alike and one different, three similar with subtle differences, A loves B, but B loves C, and C loves A. All of these relationships I transform into visual entities. The interrelationship concept triggers, or motivates, or fires up the visual metaphor, that becomes the painting.”
John Colt
Tropic Ritual Watercolor 37” H x 29” W
“In the realm of the visual, the concept calls on the interaction of opposites: long/short, thick/thin, open/closed, opaque/transparent, inside/outside, light/dark, bright/dull, male/female, mountain/sea.”
John Colt Sea Traveler Acrylic on Canvas 40”H x 30”W “There is a flowing, energetic rhythm which is maximized through a broad range of color values, hatched lines, and rounded afferent orbs. However, uniform poetics is not achieved and a temporal polarity of form and content is used to substantiate my judgment.” Duality is used formally through setting up counter posed structures in the work with reference to top and bottom, left side to right side, lines to lines, and dots to dots.
John Colt
Night Game Acrylic on Canvas 53” H x 24” W
“I have used the snake for many years, straight, curved, austere, and decorative and for it’s many analogies and implications. During the years in Haiti I observed the little lizards, a development of the snake form, but more as a missile or ballistic form with tiny, spindly springs for legs – a metaphor of thrust and potential. Without the long tail the lizard is much like a toad or a frog – also underwater/out of water and a short distance from the soft bundle or soft bag or soft orb. It is close to my basic form with subtle modifications.”
John Colt
Blue Ring Acrylic & Pastel on Canvas 24” H x 19” W
By speaking for the smallest and humblest of Earth’s creatures, he has created an art that speaks to all of us. By looking down into puddles, pools, meandering streams, and clumps of grass, and up, into the teeming summer skies he has created a mini-universe that reveals more about the solar system and our place in it than many a detailed map of the heavens. Almost invariably, Colt’s work reveals a concern with growth and metamorphosis.
John Colt
Prelude Watercolor 21” H x 28” W
“The marks that become shapes start with a dot and a dash (.-). They grow into an orb and stick. The orb may soften to a bundle and the stick curve into a snake. My repertoire of images has expanded from these basic self-imposed limitations. On one hand it has developed on the other hand only certain things from nature will do in order that the interaction of opposites is as terse, in a formal sense, as I can make it.”
Ruth Kjaer Artist Statement Living in an atemporal age, my work is shaped by a wealth of styles and molded into my unique language. Depth by use of texture, layering, and rich deep color are elements that structure my work. I build a surface using a variety of substances to achieve a complex and mysterious surface. I reject identifying an exactness. As I paint I am questioning every stroke, every area as to how it relates to the surrounding areas and as a whole. I use a variety of techniques for paint application. I paint with the painting located on an easel and at other times it is placed on the floor so that I can walk around it. I may spatter creating another layer or I may use striation in forming symbols embedded in the surface. The painting lives in my mind as I seek to push it into an emotional habitat. That may take days, weeks, or months to develop. I seek to find an emotional intensity and mystery. I assert the idea that confronting themes of personal and social import is what gives humanity to art.
Dusk is an Illusion I Ruth Kjaer
Mixed Media 27” H x 34” W
The time around dusk is a time when nature’s light can be the most illusive. It is a period of explosive atmospheric effects that are gone in a second. I try to capture the spontaneous and illusive dusk that nature gives us in my paintings.
Dusk is an Illusion II Ruth Kjaer Mixed Media 46” H x 48” H
I found the poem “Dusk is an Illusion” by Nicolas Sparks and found that it fit into my personal repertoire of values. It is a period (some say the “Golden Hour”) of explosive atmospheric effects sensitive to time. Dusk is an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it. That means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are. There cannot be one without the other, yet they cannot exist at the same time. How would it feel to be always together, yet forever apart?
Dusk is an Illusion III Ruth Kjaer
Mixed Media 32� H x 42� H
My work hovers between representing elements of nature and abstraction. The world I create is a plunge into the realm of human spirituality.
Golden Rain # 13 Ruth Kjaer
Mixed Media 26� W x 42� H
The atmosphere moves from dark to an explosion of light. I like to use a bright area to express hope. Gold is said by some to represent joy, light, and gladness. The world I create is hopefully a window into the realm of human spirituality that seeks, in the end, to provide just a little catharsis.
Golden Rain #14 Ruth Kjaer Mixed Media 40” x 32” This painting echoes, but also adds layering beginning with hand-made paper, layering one paper on another, a sandy texture, added lace and different mixtures and density of paint. I like to think of opposites and mystery while I work prompting vagueness and some fantasy. Parmenides saw the world divided into pairs of opposites. Some of these are light/darkness, warmth/cold, being/non-being, positive/negative with lightness representing positive and weight negative. Within this framework the work creates it’s own life. Degas: “A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people. I like to leave the door open for some interpretation.
Danae’s Bed Ruth Kjaer Mixed Media 17.5” H x 35” W I like to use the quality abstraction offers along with something “concrete” (the bed) providing a semi-solid structure to the work. The bedroom of Danae and the story of this Greek myth was used for offering and evoking a setting of intimacy, comfort, or even violence. The content is ambiguous. The golden rain is part of the story. I use the spatter for another layer (borrowing Pollock’s spatter) to evoke a timeless depth.
Ruth Kjaer Exhibitions
2016
Westfield State University, One Woman Exhibit, Westfield, MA Easthampton City Arts, “Three Person Show, Easthampton MA (Ruth Kjaer, John Colt, Faith Lund)
2015
Easthampton City Arts, One Woman Exhibition, Easthampton, MA Thanassi Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2014
Easthampton City Arts, Group Exhibition, Easthampton, MA Thanassi Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2013
D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts Harriet Tubman House, “Violence Transformed”, Boston, MA State House “Violence Transformed”, Boston, MA Pulse Gallery, Springfield, MA
2012
Thanassi Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2011
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
2010
Thanassi Gallery, Provincetown, MA Racine Art Museum, Prit Exhibition, Racine WI Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design Print Exhibition, Milwaukee, WI
2009
Cottage Street Studios, Easthampton, MA
2006
Smith College, Northampton, MA Amherst Art Alliance - Amherst, MA
1992
Posner Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Made in Milwaukee Print Exhibition, Milwaukee Art Museum Watercolor Wisconsin, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI Mayor’s Exhibition of Art, Milwaukee, WI
1991
Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, WI
1990
Wisconsin Academy Gallery, Madison, WI
1989
Posner Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Waila Cultural Center, Hilo, Hawaii
1988
Bradley Galleries, Milwaukee, WI Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, WI
1987
Hooks-Epstein Galleries, Houston, TX
1986
Posner Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Waterloo Municipal Galleries, Waterloo, IA Pain Art Center, Oshkosh, WI Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI Riveredge Galleries, Mishicot, WI
1984
APSA Gallery, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Minneapolis Art Institute MN
1983
Bradley Galleries, Milwaukee, WI Sneed Gallery, Rockford, IL Viterbo College, LaCrosse, WI
1982
Le Musee d’art Haitian, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Ruth Kjaer – Collections Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI Borg-Warner, Chicago, IL Allstate Insurance, Chicago, IL Steelcase, Detroit, MI Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chicago, IL Hyatt Regency, Milwaukee, WI Baker, Knapp & Tubbs, London, Dallas, Chicago Arthur Andersen & Co., Sydney, Australia Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Clark Equipment Company, Buhanan, Michigan Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, INC., Milwaukee, WI Kutak, Rock, & Huie, Pillsbury Bldg., Minneapolis, MN Liberty Diversified Industries, Minneapolis, MN Park National Bank, Minneapolis, MN University of Wisconsin Hospitals, Madison, WI Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, WI Nankin, Schnoll & Co., Milwaukee, WI Continental Bank Bldg. Milwaukee, WI WISC – TV, Madison, WI Hydrite Chemical co., Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin Telephone Co., Milwaukee, WI Ksandr Interior Designs, Chicago, IL First National Bank, Niles, MI Racine Steel Castings, Racine, WI William Manly Interior Design, Milwaukee, WI ASEA Industrial Systems, Milwaukee, WI
Independence Bank, Waukesha, WI Madsen Building Corp., Madison, WI First Bank Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI Charter Medical Group, Chicago, IL Drexel Heritage, High Point, NC Bellows & Bellows, Chicago, IL Milwaukee Art Commission, Milwaukee, WI Alexander Grant & Co., Madison WI Club Key West, Key West FL Medical Clinic, Menominee Falls, WI Mitchel International Airport, Milwaukee, WI University Hospitals, Iowa City, IA Urban Studies Inc., Milwaukee, WI First Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, WI Oscar Meyer Co., Madison, WI Birtcher Properties – The Forum, Milwaukee, WI Republic Savings & Loan Corporate Offices, Milwaukee, WI Wyndham Hotel, Milwaukee Center, Milwaukee, WI Shands Teaching Hospital, Gainsville, FL Arthur Young, Milwaukee Center, Milwaukee, WI Farm Plan Co., Madison, WI Gallery East, Chatanooga, TN First Wisconsin Trust, Palm Beach, FL