Destinations

Start date: Friday, January 4, 2008
Event is ongoing: Until Saturday, February 23, 2008

"My strongest influences have been the expressionists, who often had something to say about our society, not always in a flattering way. Painters like Jack Levine, Raphael Soyer, the great Russian artist Kathe Kollwitz, and Philip Evergood are a few artists whose work I’ve admired over the years. And I must also include Edward Hopper.

I also have a theatre background, so I think my work is informed by that, as well. When I’m painting, I sometimes feel like a “director,” arranging the elements – the “actors” – on a stage with a “set” or backdrop. Character is important to me, so I like to pay attention not the details of faces. When you have a grouping of people, then you’re contending with how they “relate” to each other. Or how they may not seem to relate at all, which then creates a kind of tension in the piece.

But I seldom have all the answers before I start in. I don’t plan everything in advance. I often get into the work and find that I don’t have a clue about where I’m going. When that happens, then, you just have to listen to what the painting tells you to do.

Sometimes it works." – Grayson Harper

Information from the center's site