ARTIST’S STATEMENTS
APPROACHING FIFTY
I am approaching fifty! Nearly half a century has passed since my first professional solo exhibition of paintings in February, 1967, at Janus Gallery, Rochester, N.Y. In the years since, I have with a serious uninterrupted commitment pursued an intensive studio engagement. Which has lead to numerous solo exhibitions in galleries in NYC, Toronto, Chicago, Buffalo, Minneapolis and other major art centers. Early in my career I was honored to have the Everson Museum mount two one person exhibitions of of my large
scale paintings in 1971 and 1981.
APPROACHING FIFTY Is my third solo exhibition at Axom Gallery. In 2013 concurrent shows were held at Axom and Geisel Galleries.
In 2012, at Axom, I presented three separate painting series: (1) non-objective abstraction, 2) naturalistic landscape and (3) abstraction juxtaposed with landscape. Rather than solely concentrating on a single painting objective, the direction of my studio practice for the past decade has been deliberately directed toward three simultaneous unique painting series. Rather than one single direction my focus is multifaceted.
In July of this year I exhibited a series of 16 naturalistic landscapes based on the beauty of Fair Haven NY.: location of my home and studio. The exhibition presented here at Axom consists of two different series of new work; NOW and SQUARE MOON RISING. In NOW, modernist abstractions symbolize one’s inevitable life experiences of facing abrupt change and confronting how to effectively deal with loss. Most (but not all) of the paintings in the NOW series are developed as follows:
Initially the painting is developed to where I feel it is progressing well and is on route to successful completion. At which point using a table saw I cut the painting in half. While it may seem to be a monumentally stupid act the resulting two parts present new painting opportunities and/or dilemmas. Flipping, inverting, upending the past and searching for renewal. Most often the painting in its new configuration incorporates paint encrusted stirring sticks that I have used and collected for years. The sticks, replete with a mapping history of their own, serve as a bridge between the bifurcated halves of the original work and a physical/visual connection to the past.
In the process I hope to address one’s ongoing confrontations with abrupt change and the necessity of regrouping and embracing the new. Moving on in painting is essential. Essential. But in painting as in life the paths are not always easy. Or obvious.
In the SQUARE MOON RISING series three large acrylic works on canvas combine modernist abstraction with landscape.
–Paul Garland
Curriculum Vitae
While I was completing my MFA at RIT I had my first solo exhibition at Janus Gallery, just a short distance from the exhibition at AXOM Gallery.
In the forty-five years between the two exhibitions I have produced art continuously in my studio, worked as a professor at SUNY OSWEGO, traveled extensively and at different times have had studios in New York City and London, England.
I have been fortunate to have had many exhibition opportunities including one person shows at the Everson Museum and galleries in major cities. I was pleased to be part of a recent two person exhibition at the Davidson Gallery, Roberts Wesleyan College Rochester, NY.
A List of Selected Solo Exhibitions:
AXOM Gallery & Exhibition Space. Rochester, NY. 2012
Little Theater. Rochester, NY. 2005
Mercer Gallery. Monroe Community College. Rochester, NY. 2000
Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, NY. 1995
New York Institute of Technology. Old Westbury, NY. 1994
SUNY Oswego. Oswego, NY. 1993
M.C. Gallery. Minneapolis, MN. 1987
Leo Kamen Gallery. Toronto, Ontario. 1986
Zaner Gallery. Rochester, NY 1985
Herter Gallery. University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 1984
Everson Museum. Syracuse, NY. 1981
Exhibit Traveled through 1983:
SUNY Albany. Albany, NY
Purdue University. E.Lafayette, Indiana
Grand Forks, South Dakota
Hartwick College. Oneonta, NY
SUNY Oswego. Oswego, NY
Elizabeth Weiner Gallery. New York, NY 1981
Vorpal Gallery. Chicago, Illinois. 1980
Vorpal Gallery. New York, NY. 1977
Gregoir Gallery. New York, NY. 1973
James Yu Gallery. New York, NY. 1973
Everson Museum. Syracuse, NY. 1971
Janus Gallery. Rochester, NY. 1967
I have also participated in a great many group exhibitions in Upstate New York; over twenty in Rochester alone. Group of Six exhibitions with Julie Furlong Williams, Judd Williams, Chuck Haas, George McDade and Joe Hendrick have a special significance for me. They are artists residing in Rochester who have been inspirations to me and countless others in the community.
A recent group exhibition, Four Degrees of Separation with Thomas Seawell, Nick D’Innocenzo and Sewall Oertling at Mercer Gallery Brought together four colleagues from SUNY Oswego.
Selected Museum, Corporate, and University Collections Include:
Memorial Art Gallery. Rochester, NY
Everson Museum. Syracuse, NY
Charles Rand Penny Collection, Burchfield Center. Buffalo, NY
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Educational Testing Service. Princeton, NY
Prudential Insurance Company
Pittsburgh Plate Glass
IBM Corporation
OSI Design CenterState University of New York at Oswego
Many private collections.
Miscellaneous:
My studio is located in Fair Haven, New York.
Throughout my years teaching at SUNY Oswego I was able to devise a plan which allowed for extended periods of studio work without the demands of teaching. I would teach for three consecutive years and then take a year’s leave of absence without pay of a full year’s sabbatical and apply my full concentration toward studio production. This compromised our income and required resourceful living and was only made possible through the love and generosity of my spouse Anne Hallinan-Garland and our son Nate.
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