Press Release: Runyan Gallery show, March 2012
American Verismo: the Art
and its Followers is the March exhibit in the Runyan Gallery sponsored by
Oregon coast Council for the Arts.. Opening on March
2 with a reception from 5pm to 7pm, the show features two painters and a sculptor
from Eugene who have worked together for a number of years. OCCA welcomes
members and the public to meet the artists and enjoy refreshments. American
Verismo continues through the 1st of
April.
A painter since early childhood, Jerry Ross attended
the Art Institute of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, the University of Buffalo,
and the University of Oregon. "I have a strong interest in the "poetica del vero" schools of
painting, mostly derived from Italian influences,” he states. “This can be
translated as "the poetry of life or truth" and is associated with
working directly from nature as in plein air painting,
namely an appreciation of the oil sketch and alla
prima (a direct attack) mode of painting which I apply not only to landscape
but also to portraiture and figurative work."
In 1991, Ross founded
and co-organized the popular Salon de Refuses art exhibit in Eugene after
his work was rejected from the Mayor’s Show. Later, Ross won both Mayor’s
Choice in 2000 and the Juror’Award in 2004.
Ross was a visiting artist/scholar at the American Academy in Rome in late
2010, and won the opportunity to exhibit and a Gold medal in an art competition
in Milan, Corsico, Italy in 2006. He has also shown in Rome, Bologna
and Florence. . In 2006, he originated the "American Verismo"
movement while teaching at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene. His movement
is inspired by the Italian I Macchiaioli and his
own experimental work.
”American verismo is more
poetic and linked to post-impressionism, the Milan-based Scapigliatura (‘wild hair’) movement,
and the I Macchiaioli’s commitment to social issues,”
Ross explains. “But like atelier realism, American verismo is associated with a painterly sketching style, use
of broad brushstrokes, and the alla prima, “direct
attack” technique of painting. It is also linked to al aperto (open air) impressionist-style
landscape painting.”
John Bennington is “mostly from Oregon,” having moved
many times as a child. He has lived in Eugene for more than two decades now
with his wife and two grown boys. “Since childhood, however, I have been a
sculptor,” he says. “It possesses me still. From
my jewelry to life size works, the allure is in its invitation to lingering
touch, together with its intrigue for the eyes…
Made from earthy things like rocks, metal, mud, and clay, it requires
craft and heart.” He thanks the friends at Maude Kerns sculpture studio and
Oregon artists for their company. Bennington says,” I feel the urgency to
"grasp the instant" as the Italian I Macchiaioli
did before the French impressionists even woke up. The American Verismo have revitalized it, but
I must remind the viewer that the Greeks had the notion of "frozen
motion" a couple thousand years ago.” He wants to carry on “the search
of the ancient Greeks to find, reveal, and even glorify the beauty of the
human form, but also to catch it unaware.” Bennington urges viewers to touch
his sculptures.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Patti McNutt moved to Eugene
in 1985 where her first commercial art job was laying out The Oregon Coast
Aquarium’s newsletter. She is a member of the Plein
Air Painters of Lane County as well as Maude Kerns Art Center and the Emerald
Art Center in Springfield. She has taken instruction from Sarkis
Antkikajin, Mitch Baird, Kate Bollens,
Mark Clark, Robert Gamblin, Susan Ogilvie, Farley Craig and Craig
Lasha. When Jerry Ross substituted for an instructor
at Maude Kern’s Art Center about 10 years ago, she found that his American
verismo
style was a turning point in the “evolution of my growth as an artist.” She
states, “I
felt that the images in my head began to be better realized on the canvas
and continued to sign up for his classes.”
McNutt paints
commissioned portraits –of humans as well as dogs, cats, horses and
even llamas. She has shown in a variety of locations in the Eugene area including
Zenon’s, Eugene Jazz Station, Cascade Manor and
Maude Kerns Art Center, as well as other venues in Oregon, The Guistina Gallery on the OSU campus in Corvallis and the Emerald Art Center
in Eugene. Married to Mike McNutt, the couple has two grown sons. She says,
“The Pacific Northwest continues to nurture my love of art and nature.”
The Runyan
Gallery is located on first floor of the Newport Visual Arts Center, 777 NW
Beach Dr, with plenty of parking in the Nye Beach Turnaround. Gallery hours
are 11am to 5pm, Tuesday through Sunday. For additional information or to
schedule a viewing when the gallery is closed, contact Sally Houck, OCCA VAC
Director, 541-265-6569.
Captions:
Oregon
Veduta, painting by Jerry Ross. Painting is based on
sketches made in Plein air but the painting is done
in the studio.
The
Girl on the Train, painting by Jerry Ross