REBECCA FAGG + JACK STRATTON: TWO RETROSPECTIVES
This catalog accompanies the REBECCA FAGG + JACK STRATTON: TWO RETROSPECTIVES exhibition at GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art in Greensboro, July 16 - November 7, 2021. Sales inquiries welcome in person and by phone. Contact Edie Carpenter at 336–333–7460 ext 2 or by email at Edie.Carpenter@ GreenHillNC.org REBECCA FAGG + JACK STRATTON: TWO RETROSPECTIVES is organized by GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art in partnership with Rebecca Fagg and Jack Stratton and curated by Edie Carpenter. The exhibition is supported by The Gallucci Creative Fund and Mercedes Benz of Greensboro.
Mercedes-Benz of Greensboro GreenHill extends special thanks to donors, board leaders and statewide members for their enduring commitment.
All artwork © the Artist © 2021 GreenHill All rights reserved. This publication is protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be repoduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright holder. Cover and Book Design: Becca Mortensen, Curatorial Assistant & Registrar, GreenHill GreenHill 200 North Davie Street, Box No.4 Greensboro, NC 27401 www.greenhillnc.org (336) 333-7460
REBECCA FAGG + JACK STRATTON: TWO RETROSPECTIVES JULY 16 - NOVEMBER 7, 2021
CONTENTS Welcome Barbara Richter .......................................................................................................................9 Curator’s Statement Edie Carpenter .......................................................................................................................10 Works Available for Purchase Rebecca Fagg..........................................................................................................................12 Jack Stratton...........................................................................................................................44 Artist Biographies ...............................................................................................................96 Checklist .................................................................................................................................98 Art Credits ............................................................................................................................103
WELCOME It’s a privilege to showcase two exceptional North Carolina painters: Rebecca Fagg and Jack Stratton. Their creative legacies – spanning nearly five decades - mirror the rich cultural communities of our region. Wide-ranging, elegant works on view and contrasting artistic approaches delight and transport us. We invite you to get lost in the retrospectives and find yourself again feeling connected and refreshed by a new way of seeing the worlds we inhabit. In this digital edition catalog, we’re presenting a vibrant selection of watercolors, drawings, and paintings available for purchase. In the galleries, they appear alongside objects generously shared by collectors across the state. We’re indebted to Rebecca Fagg and Jack Stratton for their brilliant, artistic contributions and enduring ties to GreenHill and to Jim Gallucci for supporting both artists through the Gallucci Creative Fund. Individual print edition catalogs celebrating our featured artists are in production, thanks to the generosity of Sally Cone and Mary Magrinat. Particular thanks are due to our sponsor, Mercedes Benz of Greensboro, and statewide members who fuel our mission as champions of North Carolina art. The tireless dedication of our curatorial team makes stellar installations such as this possible. On behalf of all of us who cherish GreenHill, I applaud Edie Carpenter, Director of Artistic and Curatorial Programs, and Becca Mortensen, Curatorial Assistant, for their accomplishments. Barbara D. Richter Executive Director and CEO
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CURATOR’S STATEMENT Rebecca Fagg’s and Jack Stratton’s concurrent retrospectives offer comprehensive views of works produced during a 45-year span. Visitors encounter Rebecca Fagg’s early works upon entering the gallery. A group of figure drawings of nudes display the qualities of observation and formal resolution that inform over 120 works by Fagg on exhibit. The majority in this exhibition are on loan from North Carolina collectors, including a selection of paintings of colorful boxes from the late 80’s to early 90’s. A devastating fire in the artist’s studio in Greensboro is the subject of four paintings depicting burnt canvases, including Visitation #3 (1994) in the collection of The Weatherspoon Museum. Fragile, calcinated fabric draped across darkened stretchers may be read as pure abstraction as well as depictions of the transformational power of fire. Near Franklin, TN (2000) is one of over thirty landscapes by Fagg in the exhibition. Dusk engulfs white fences in horse pastures and an evening rain has burnished the road. Fagg’s ability to register minute changes in dark values and the ways light activates interior spaces is underlined in the many “light fragment” paintings such as the eloquent Blue and Green Chair (2002). In Jack Stratton’s section of the gallery the vibrant early painting Kathleen/Pop (1977) is one of the first works people will discover. The interior scene depicting a young woman disrobing conjures similar subjects by the German expressionists, as does Stratton’s use of color and broad paint handling. A grouping of works on paper installed on one wall in the exhibition includes ink drawings, watercolors and prints. 10
The Seven Sisters (Pleides Star Cluster) (2005), created using wax resist on handmade paper by Vito Ciccone, is but one example of experimental techniques Stratton employs. Stratton’s unique narrative style embraces sources from literature; mythology and contemporary culture wars; to name a few. In The Essene (1992), named for the legendary Essene peoples of the Dead Sea Scrolls, an elongated central figure fills the picture plane. Ritual washing of feet takes place next to a pair of burning shoes, a motif that appears is several other works. Chronicles of contemporary life constitute another aspect of Stratton’s oeuvre. The Fogger Truck I (2014), records a seminal event in the artist’s childhood: a group of children on bicycles riding through billowing clouds emanating from a truck. The artist is among them, wearing swimming goggles to see through the mist, arms raised enjoying the refreshing spray. Chimps (The Baby) (2014) was created after a visit to the NC Zoo. Here two stories, that of the visitors crowded before the glass recording the animals, and that of the mother cradling her precious young, unfold concurrently. Rebecca Fagg and Jack Stratton will be on hand to discuss their works during artist gallery hours and artist talks throughout the exhibition. Details available on the retrospectives’ exhibition page on the web. Edie Carpenter Director, Artistic and Curatorial Programs 11
REBECCA FAGG
Rebecca Fagg
Gull, 2014 pencil on paper, 4 7/8 x 6 inches FA000083 $280
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Rebecca Fagg
402 at Brooks Falls #1, 2014 pencil on paper, 4 7/8 x 4 7/8 inches FA000084 $375
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Rebecca Fagg
402 at Brooks Falls #2, 2014 pencil on paper, 5 1/8 x 5 3/4 inches FA000085 $375
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Rebecca Fagg
Elephant, 2014 pencil on paper, 5 7/8 x 8 inches FA000090 $525
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Rebecca Fagg
River Watch Bear - 7/4/13 #1, 2014 pencil on paper, 7 1/2 x 7 inches FA000091 $525
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Rebecca Fagg
Reclining Figure #74-01, 1974 pencil on paper, 6 x 11 1/4 inches FA000086 $400
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Rebecca Fagg
Reclining Figure #74-02, 1974 pencil on paper, 6 x 11 1/4 inches FA000087 $400
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Rebecca Fagg
Figure Drawing #76-01, 1976 pencil on tracing vellum, 10 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches FA000088 $500
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Rebecca Fagg
Figure Drawing #74-03, 1974 pencil on tracing vellum, 9 x 8 1/4 inches FA000089 $500
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Rebecca Fagg
Reclining Nude, 2013 pencil on paper, 13 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches FA000092 $575
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Rebecca Fagg
Red Dahlia, 1983 watercolor, 15 1/2 x 18 inches FA000096 $1,600
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Rebecca Fagg
Naknek Lake, 2020 pencil on paper, 11 1/4 x 20 inches FA000095 $1,600
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Rebecca Fagg
Hillsides Landscape, 2020 oil on paper, 6 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches FA000094 $1,600
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Rebecca Fagg
Belugas #2, 2018 oil on paper, 7 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches FA000093 $1,200
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Rebecca Fagg
Okra, 2012 oil on wood panel, 10 x 10 inches FA000097 $2,200
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Rebecca Fagg
Paper Bags #2, 2012 oil on wood panel, 10 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches FA000098 $2,200
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Rebecca Fagg
Paper Bags #5, 2013 oil on wood panel, 10 x 10 inches FA000099 $2,200
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Rebecca Fagg
Mirror, 2007 oil on paper, 10 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches FA000100 $2,500
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Rebecca Fagg
Joe’s Fork #2, 2007 oil on canvas on masonite, 14 x 14 inches FA000101 $2,800
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Rebecca Fagg
Light Fragments, Chair #4, 1999 oil on paper, 15 x 15 inches FA000102 $2,800
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Rebecca Fagg
Light Fragments, Chair #5, 1999 oil on paper, 15 x 15 inches FA000103 $2,800
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Rebecca Fagg
Brooks River #1, 2014 oil on wood panel, 9 x 12 inches FA000104 $3,850
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Rebecca Fagg
Brooks River #2, 2014 oil on wood panel, 9 x 12 inches FA000105 $3,850
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Rebecca Fagg
Black Balsam, 2007 oil on canvas on masonite, 18 x 18 inches FA000106 $4,800
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Rebecca Fagg
Blue and Green Chairs, 2001 oil on paper, 23 1/2 x 16 inches FA000107 $5,900
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Rebecca Fagg
Visitation #1, 1994 oil on canvas on masonite, 24 x 32 inches FA000108 $6,900
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Rebecca Fagg
Near Franklin, TN #4, 2000 oil on canvas on masonite, 20 x 29 inches FA000109 $7,200
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Rebecca Fagg
Visitation #2, 1994 oil on canvas on masonite, 24 x 36 inches FA000110 $7,775
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Rebecca Fagg
Susan’s Study, 2000 oil on linen, 30 x 30 inches FA000111 $9,750
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Rebecca Fagg
Visitation #4, 1994 oil on canvas on masonite, 32 x 47 inches FA000112 $11,000
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Rebecca Fagg
Papers, 2010 oil on canvas on masonite, 24 x 24 inches FA000113 $20,000
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JACK STRATTON
Jack Stratton
I Am Not a Victim, 1996 ink, 11 x 9 inches ST000118 $200
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Jack Stratton
The Little Neighborhood, 2003 ink, 3 1/2 x 6 inches ST000119 $200
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Jack Stratton
Surf Study, 2003 ink, 5 x 9 inches ST000121 $300
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Jack Stratton
Catching a Foul with Nachos and Beer, 2019 ink, 19 x 20 inches ST000123 $400
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Jack Stratton
The Sea and Sorrow (Requiem for Pete Taylor), 1999 ink, 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches ST000130 $400
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Jack Stratton
Day Dream of the Epistemologist, 1997 ink, 9 x 11 inches ST000125 $400
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Jack Stratton
Crowded Lobby, 1999 ink, 11 x 9 inches ST000124 $400
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Jack Stratton
The Seven Sisters (Pleides Star Cluster), 2005 wax resist, india ink on handmade paper by Vito Ciccone, 16 x 20 inches ST000142 $950
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Jack Stratton
Feeding Birds at Sacre Coeur (Birdman), 1981 woodcut on Japanese paper, 34 x 14 inches ST000140 $950
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Jack Stratton
Black Hole Sun, 2017 gouache and watercolor, 9 x 11 3/4 inches ST000122 $400
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Jack Stratton
Fogger Truck, 2014 watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 inches ST000126 $400
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Jack Stratton
Jacuzzi at Myrtle Beach, 2009 watercolor, 7 x 9 inches ST000127 $400
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Jack Stratton
The Buckeye Tree, 2017 watercolor on handmade paper, 12 x 9 inches ST000128 $400
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Jack Stratton
The Owl and the Otter, 2019 watercolor on handmade paper, 12 x 9 inches ST000129 $400
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Jack Stratton
Kathleen/Pop, 1977 guoache on 300lb watercolor paper, 30 1/2 x 23 inches ST000149 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
Buttercup, 2000 acrylic on panel, 6 x 4 1/2 inches ST000131 $500
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Jack Stratton
Let’s See Some ID, 2004 acrylic on jute on panel, 13 x 11 inches ST000141 $950
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Jack Stratton
Datura, 2004 acrylic on panel, 6 1/4 x 12 1 /4 inches ST000137 $850
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Jack Stratton
Fire Fly (Lightning Bugs), 2020 acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches ST000147 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
Pandora’s Chocolate Box, 2008 acrylic on jute on panel, 35 x 27 inches ST000160 $1,300
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Jack Stratton
My Noisy Ear, 2011 acrylic on jute on panel, 48 x 24 inches ST000163 $1,500
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Jack Stratton
Road Rage in the Giant Carpool, 2003 acrylic on upholstery fabric, 22 x 28 inches ST000164 $1,500
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Jack Stratton
The Big Snore, 2004 acrylic on upholstery fabric, 23 x 33 inches ST000166 $1,500
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Jack Stratton
Advice II, 2010 oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches ST000132 $800
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Jack Stratton
Hand of Frankenstein, 1995 oil on wood, 8 5/8 x 6 3/8 inches ST000133 $950
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Jack Stratton
Painting Party in W-S, 1995 oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches ST000134 $800
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Jack Stratton
The Second Line of Alan Toussaint, 2016 oil on canvas, 10 x 10 inches ST000135 $800
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Jack Stratton
Burning Words, 1991 oil on canvas, 10 x 8 inches ST000136 $850
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Jack Stratton
Roy’s Bonfire (The Smaller Bonfire), 2006 oil on canvas, 12 x 10 inches ST000138 $850
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Jack Stratton
Grimsley Fireworks, 2010 oil on canvas, 11 x 12 inches ST000139 $900
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Jack Stratton
Scribbling Self, 1984 oil on canvas, 20 x 18 inches ST000143 $1,000
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Jack Stratton
Selfie Painting, 2014 oil on canvas, 12 x 9 inches ST000144 $1,000
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Jack Stratton
Brown Mountain Lights, 2017 oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches ST000145 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
Chimps (The Baby), 2014 oil on canvas, 24 x24 inches ST000146 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
Fogger Truck I, 2014 oil on canvas, 18 x24 inches ST000148 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
Paola and Francesca in Hell, 2020 oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches ST000150 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
The Ascension of the Air Guitarist, 2009 oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches ST000151 $1,100
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Jack Stratton
A Fine Martini, 2003 oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches ST000153 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
Dancing Dolphins (Big Clowns), 1987 oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches ST000154 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
Hypnopompic Cavalcade, 2020 oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches ST000155 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
Marauder, 1982 oil on canvas, 36 x 32 inches ST000156 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
Tater Heads, 1995 oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches ST000157 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
The Fallen Oak, 2014 oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches ST000158 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
The Lump, 2011 oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches ST000159 $1,200
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Jack Stratton
Fogger Truck II, 2014 oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches ST000162 $1,350
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Jack Stratton
Summer Buzz, 2015 oil on canvas, 32 1/8 x 42 1/4 inches ST000165 $2,200
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Jack Stratton
Lick of the Werewolf, 1988 oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches ST000167 $2,000
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Jack Stratton
Nut Rocks the Boat, 1990 oil and wax emulsion on canvas, 36 x 48 inches ST000168 $2,500
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Jack Stratton
Advice (Alexander and the Romani), 1996 oil and wax emulsion on canvas, 34 x 40 inches ST000169 $2,700
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Jack Stratton
Mercury and Argus (from a Drawing by Rembrandt), 1994 oil on canvas, 36 x 46 inches ST000170 $2,700
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Jack Stratton
The Essene, 1992 oil and wax emulsion on canvas, 64 x 40 inches ST000171 $3,000
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REBECCA FAGG
Rebecca Fagg earned her BFA at UNCG in 1977. Her solo exhibitions include the Collector’s Gallery, North Carolina Museum of Art; OK Harris, New York; The Art Gallery, Nagoya Japan; Macaon & Co Fine Art, Atlanta; and Blue Spiral in Asheville. Fagg has regularly been featured in GreenHill’s WINTER SHOW, and she curated the 2005 exhibition “Hand to Hand: A Legacy of North Carolina Painters”. Fagg’s works figure in private and public collections across the country including Delta Airlines, Duke University Medical Center, The Weatherspoon Museum of Art and North Carolina Museum of Art. She is the recipient of a Pollack Krasner Foundation grant and maintains her studio in Greensboro.
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JACK STRATTON
Jack Stratton received his BFA in Painting at UNCG in 1977. He joined the UNCG library staff full-time as a bookbinder. From the library, Stratton moved to the Weatherspoon Art Museum where he worked for 20 years as a preparator. He currently paints in his Greensboro studio and teaches drawing and watercolor painting at the Art Alliance, an organization sponsored by the City of Greensboro. He also teaches drawing classes at the Hirsch Wellness Network in Greensboro and works as a freelance preparator, curator, art handler and lighting consultant. Solo shows include Founders Hall, Guilford College; Greensboro EUC Gallery; and University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Group exhibitions include the North Carolina Museum Art; Mattress Group, Atlanta; 60 Broadway Gallery, New York City; and GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art. 97
CHECKLIST REBECCA FAGG 402 at Brooks Falls #1, 2014 402 at Brooks Falls #2, 2014 Belugas #2, 2018 Black Balsam, 2007 Blue and Green Chairs, 2001 Brooks River #1, 2014 Brooks River #2, 2014 Elephant, 2014 Figure Drawing #74-03, 1974 Figure Drawing #76-01, 1976 Gull, 2014 Hillsides Landscape, 2020 Joe’s Fork #2, 2007 Light Fragments, Chair #4, 1999 Light Fragments, Chair #5, 1999 Mirror, 2007 Naknek Lake, 2020 Near Franklin, TN #4, 2000 Okra, 2012 Papers, 2010 Paper Bags #2, 2012 Paper Bags #5, 2013
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Reclining Figure #74-01, 1974 Reclining Figure #74-02, 1974 Reclining Nude, 2013 Red Dahlia, 1983 River Watch Bear - 7/4/13 #1, 2014 Visitation #1, 1994 Visitation #2, 1994 Visitation #4, 1994 Susan’s Study, 2000
JACK STRATTON A Fine Martini, 2003 Advice II, 2010 Advice (Alexander and the Romani), 1996 Black Hole Sun, 2017 Brown Mountain Lights, 2017 Burning Words, 1991 Buttercup, 2000 Catching a Foul with Nachos and Beer, 2019 Chimps (The Baby), 2014 Crowded Lobby, 1999 Dancing Dolphins (Big Clowns), 1987 Datura, 2004 Day Dream of the Epistemologist, 1997 Feeding Birds at Sacre Coeur (Birdman), 1981
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CHECKLIST JACK STRATTON CONTINUED
Fire Fly (Lightning Bugs), 2020 Fogger Truck, 2014 Fogger Truck I, 2014 Fogger Truck II, 2014 Grimsley Fireworks, 2010 Hand of Frankenstein, 1995 Hypnopompic Cavalcade, 2020 I Am Not a Victim, 1996 Jacuzzi at Myrtle Beach, 2009 Kathleen/Pop, 1977 Let’s See Some ID, 2004 Lick of the Werewolf, 1988 Marauder, 1982 Mercury and Argus (from a Drawing by Rembrandt), 1994 My Noisy Ear, 2011 Nut Rocks the Boat, 1990 Painting Party in W-S, 1995 Pandora’s Chocolate Box, 2008 Paola and Francesca in Hell, 2020 Road Rage in the Giant Carpool, 2003 Roy’s Bonfire (The Smaller Bonfire), 2006 Scribbling Self, 1984
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Selfie Painting, 2014 Summer Buzz, 2015 Surf Study, 2003 Tater Heads, 1995 The Ascension of the Air Guitarist, 2009 The Big Snore, 2004 The Boatman’s Song (Poussin Mashup), 2000 The Buckeye Tree, 2017 The Essene, 1992 The Fallen Oak, 2014 The Little Neighborhood, 2003 The Lump, 2011 The Owl and the Otter, 2019 The Sea and Sorrow (Requiem for Pete Taylor), 1999 The Second Line of Alan Toussaint, 2016 The Seven Sisters (Pleides Star Cluster), 2005
To find specific works pictured in this catalog, enter full-screen mode and utilize the icon on the bottom right side of the catalog view finder.
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ART CREDITS Catalog Cover: Rebecca Fagg, Wheelbarrow, 2014 | Jack Stratton, The Dark Globe, 2009 Inside Front Cover: Rebecca Fagg, Brooks River #2, 2014 Title Page: Jack Stratton, Fogger Truck, 2014 Contents Page: Rebecca Fagg, Untitled Pile of Boxes #2, 1991 Welcome Page: Jack Stratton, Summer Buzz, 2015 Opposite Page: Rebecca Fagg, Near Franklin, TN #4, 2000
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ABOUT GREENHILL CENTER FOR NORTH CAROLINA ART GreenHill engages a diverse community of artists, adults and children through dynamic statewide exhibitions and educational programs while providing a platform for exploration and investment in art. As a gateway to North Carolina’s creative community, GreenHill is the only organization dedicated exclusively to presenting and promoting the contemporary visual art and artists of NC. Inspired by a vision of cultural equity and inclusion, GreenHill’s wide-ranging initiatives build empathy and connection through expressive, innovative and thought-provoking art. For more information and to see GreenHill’s Telly Award winning film, visit www.GreenHillNC.org.
