Gouaches. 2013.
An introduction can be a wonderful thing. You can meet interesting people, and make new friends. You can be introduced to your new favorite foods, books, music, or artist.
I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite artists. Some of whom I’ve been familiar with for years, and others I’ve only recently been introduced to.
The person I’d like to introduce is the artist Jonathan Christie.
Jonathan Christie is an Australian artist. He lives in Sydney Australia.
Gouache. 2013.
“I received an advanced diploma in fine arts during the mid 90s. I’ve a double major in philosophy and art history and theory from the University of Sydney. My current works are all small in scale, intentionally, using either digital media or gouache on paper. They explore the use of limited means. With the gouaches, for instance, I’ve been using a rectangle, 3/4″ wide, cut from acetate and have been using as a making template. Every mark or area of colour on the image must be painted within that template, though, of course, I allow myself freedom to move it around the paper. This allows the free generation of negative spaces, particularly where the paper is left bare. The negative space is the other, often overlooked player in the image.”
What Sol LeWitt Wouldn’t Have Done. 2013.
My interest in the negative comes from my trade qualifications and work: I’m an architectural draftsman. Negative space is clearly important in architecture. But during studies at university, I became interested in its use by Michelangelo. Most (but not all) of his sculptures are made subtractively; he begins with a solid volume and then the entirety of his labour on a work is quite literally invested in removing what lies around the sculpture’ spinal form. Every strike of the hammer and chisel, every bit of final polishing, is expended in that task. He literally desists at the moment the final sculpture is touched. Now, the Sistine Chapel frescos are created additively. He begins with blank areas of plaster and applies areas of colour to them. But if you examine the wall or ceiling, it becomes evident how acutely his practice as a subtractive sculptor informs his painting. In fact it is a synthesis of the two modes.” JC
Gouaches. 2013.
Other material relating to Jonathan Christie.
Artist website: Jonathan Christie
Just Another Painter: Jonathan Christie
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Painter's Progress 