On View: March 11 - April 15, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 11, 7-9pm

Civilian Art Projects is pleased to present “Jason Gubbiotti: Glass Giant,” the artist’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition opens on March 11 and will be on view until April 15, 2017. There is a public reception for the artist on Saturday, March 11 from 7 to 9pm, and an artist talk with Jason Gubbiotti and artist Linn Meyers on March 18 at 3pm.

The work in Glass Giant was made over the past twelve months at the artist’s studio near Paris, France. Formerly based in Washington, DC, Jason Gubbiotti has lived in Europe since 2004. His practice is reflective of Cross-Atlantic culture, yet rooted in the traditions of twentieth-century American painting. The new painting series is crafted with the techniques for which Gubbiotti’s work is known – custom supports, hard edges, energetic colors, and a tension between all of these. Refining these elements over many years, his new work confronts the façade of painting and asks the viewer to move beyond it, breaking down the picture plane into the sum of its parts, including the walls upon which it is dependent. From the support to the color and pattern, Gubbiotti creates a cohesive system in which how the work is made is as important as the finished piece, and is itself an essential communication tool.

According to the artist, “Where my process is revealed, the viewer is able to access the most formative stages of each painting. Nothing is eclipsed. From the way the paintings’ supports are built, to their external surfaces, the entire process is transparent. The materials and their execution are all on display. Each layer is offered up for the viewer to discover, examine, and consider. My paintings can be viewed as models for public power.”

Repetition of pattern and the layering of color as pure form in some areas, while diluting other shades and layering abstractly, is a signature of the new work. Rarely using a paintbrush, he layers with tape and refines with razor blades and other tools. He expands his painting technique with spraying, glazing, and staining. He is not seeking to elevate the work beyond what it is, but rather to bring forth completion from the strength of each piece as its own unique system.

“The title, Glass Giant,” according to the artist, “actually came from misconstruing the name of the planet and failed star Jupiter as the gas giant. Contemplating the idea of a glass giant in my mind for months, I started to find more meaning, other than a play on words. The mere image of something enormous and imposing, yet fragile and brittle, started to become a metaphor for many aspects of life and art. As humans, we are often capable of building conditions that are bigger than ourselves, but are capable of shattering quickly.”

Gubbiotti’s new work reveals a transparent system of slow improvisation, where mistakes are more than welcome. The work is finished when the human hand is revealed, the raw ingredients give way to a cohesive whole, and an energetic balance is found.

 

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