Exhibition Dates: October 5 – November 23, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 5 from 6–9 pm (in conjunction with “Art for Arts’ Sake”)
Gallery Location: 434 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present New Orleans From Above, an exhibition of paintings by John Hartman. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger@434, located at 434 Julia Street, from October 5 – November 23, 2013. The gallery will host an opening reception with the artist in attendance, Saturday, October 5 from 6-9 pm in conjunction with “Art for Arts’ Sake.”
New Orleans From Above, Looking South to Venice, 2013, Oil on linen, 66 x 93 inches
John Hartman, one of Canada’s most renowned contemporary painters, conceives of cities not as man-made anomalies but rather as provocative landscapes. With a unique and vibrant color palette, astral-like perspective and obvious deference, he captures the essence and lifeblood of the chosen terrain.
Hartman typically draws inspiration and direction from photographs and sketches he makes aboard chartered flights above the urban landscapes. He states, “With me there’s an awful lot of research about the cities, much that doesn’t get used. But even if I am very familiar with the subject I let each painting develop in unusual and unexpected directions. I paint from top to bottom, leaving what I’ve finished as a kind of cinema that’s unfolding.”
New Orleans From Above presents aerial views of the city and surrounding areas through the artist’s distinct voice. The compositions include New Orleans from above Algiers, the CBD and Mississippi; as well as Bayou Lafourche, Delacroix, Port Fourchon, Yscloskey and Shell Beach. The exhibition is comprised of large- and small-scale oil paintings on linen and birch panel, as well as watercolor on paper.
John Hartman was born in 1950 in Midland, Ontario, and studied Fine Art at McMaster University under George Wallace. He established his reputation with the Painting by the Bay exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Collection in 1993 and received national exposure in 1999 with the traveling exhibition and book Big North. In 2003, he began to paint aerial views of cities and these paintings made up the exhibition and book Cities which toured Canada and internationally from 2007 to 2009. Hartman is a past finalist for the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the recipient of multiple grants from the Canada and Ontario Arts Councils. His work is in the collections of over thirty important public institutions including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Library of Canada, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador. John Hartman is based in Penetanguishene, Ontario and frequently travels across North America and Europe documenting landscapes, cities and their stories for his paintings.