PAINTINGS IN PAINTINGS
Rhymes, Memories, Mysteries
On display in the South Gallery at the Columbia Art League
October 1 - October 26, 2024
Artist Statement
Landscapes and abstractions share a kind of visual poetry in painting. In landscapes we see the outside world interpreted through the mind of the artist. Similarly, I like to think of abstractions as landscapes of the mind. Through line, shape, color, and rhythm, we see not the outside world, but the inner, unknown realms. What happens when you marry these approaches? In fusing abstract paintings with landscapes or still life, I’m searching for conceptual and visual rhymes, relationships, or contradictions. In my explorations, memory sometimes comes into play, yet as often mystery results from such pairings. It’s as if the harmony or dissonance of merging the known and unknown creates a different visual reality suggesting new meanings that beg as many questions as answers.
Artist Bio
Chicago native John Fennell has been a painter for more than 40 years and works out of Orr Street Studios in Columbia. After graduating from Northern Illinois University, he attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and then studied privately with a number of well-known artists. He later earned a master's degree in painting and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has exhibited in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Hong Kong, as well as Kansas City, St. Louis, and other cities throughout Missouri. His work is in many private collections. He is a Missouri School of Journalism emeritus professor where he taught magazine writing, design, and publishing. Before teaching, he was a journalist and magazine editor.
www.johnfennellart.com
