Ned Wert, Bright Introspection

I love art.  Living with art, teaching an appreciation of art to another generation, learning to understand the process of invention and inspiration behind the work, the privilege of knowing the people, the hands, faces, trials and tribulations, and enthusiastic joys that create the work - my life is richer because of the arts.  It speaks to the deeper underside of my life, and enhances my journey through this world.

Through art I find both common ground and contentious discussion, as each of us connect with our visual worlds uniquely.  I see the color play, you see the shape of a tree.  I see shadow, you see light.  I find joy, you find repression.  I feel peace, you are jarred into discovery.  Art isn't about the image alone - it's about what you bring to it, the discussion around it, the people behind it - all of which are experiential and ever-changing.

I can say the same of music and literature.  Each time I hear a Concerto or read a Psalm, I bring myself to it - where I am at the moment, who I'm with, what I'm feeling - and it's different every time.  The lovely thing is that art, music and writing each have the capacity to capture a moment in time.  You'll never see it the same way ever again, in part because you now bring experience to it.  I believe this is why people bring a tattered piece of paper with a poem written on it to be calligraphied, an old print from home with no inherent value to be framed, or go back and purchase a painting - there is a connection, and it isn't stagnant.

This afternoon, I received an Artist Statement from Ned Wert, long-standing artist and friend.  He's finishing up a new body of work for a Lynden Gallery solo exhibition in October, and wrote a bit about what drives his enthusiasm for painting and his experiementation in this new collection.  He captures not only the magic in the making, but in the viewing, and I couldn't wait to share it....

ARTIST STATEMENT 2012
The works in this exhibition represent two years of work in my studio and have been inspired by personal and shared experiences during that time.

During that time my foremost goal was to produce over 30 pieces that, while unified in an exhibition, would expand new visions of the artist’s thinking. For more than 40 years I have explored diversity in people’s cultures, as well as the natural landscape. My enthusiasm for personal interpretation, I  hope, leads people to respond with thoughts and appreciation. In two years there will be obvious changes in images. How I see and represent my ideas, and how they are placed in compositional arrangements, become the ingredients in my abstract paintings.

I sincerely love painting. My art has never been a hobby---not even when I was in my teens. Now, 50 years later, I maintain that the underlying character of my work is the joy of painting. The gestural movements I use to produce the brushstrokes as well as the constant excitement about color, what goes with what, represents my enthusiasm. I present myself with challenges and then get energized if my intent is working. When it doesn’t, I’m open to finding a new solution that works.

The final surfaces seen in these works, by no means show the initial attacks to the blank surface. Almost all of what I do is in response to what is already there after the beginning white surface is covered. I like to layer the compositional structure by adding seemingly unrelated elements that might disturb my thoughts. They often result in discovery----and that brings on more original thoughts to deal with as I continue.

I have always been an optimist and I preserve that attitude abstractly in my work. My work is never negative, morbid, nor secretive. I enjoy the “bright side of life”....as they sing in Monty Python’s “Spamalot!”
I am proud of this exhibition of new works. Painting is work and I love my job. It energizes me---what a pleasure it is each time I decide the painting is finished and I get to add my signature as the final touch.

Ned Wert

Brush Valley, PA 

Ned Wert's latest work will premier Friday, October 19 at the Lynden Gallery.  Kindly set the date aside.

The image above is "Urban Momunments" 30" x 42" acrylic on paper.  For more about the life and work of Ned Wert, and details for the upcoming exhibition, visit our website, www.lyndengallery.com.