Painting is not dead!
For a number of years, a debate has quietly roiled: Has new technologically derived imagery displaced painting as the king of the visual arts? There certainly are more "modern" forms of creating art available today which seem to be telling the world that older forms of art are obsolete and unworthy of substantial recognition. But, for me, the act of putting brush to paint to canvas remains the epitome of artistic creation.
In our modern day high-tech society, we seem to be consumed by the media and the ease of fast paced imagery. Jan Aronson’s paintings, however, bring us all back to the reality of what “art” is. Indeed, Jan’s work embodies the recent declaration in the arts world that painting is NOT dead. You can’t fake good painting technique; you can’t get lucky; and you can’t paint without a purpose. All of this is self evident in the finished product hanging on the wall.
Jan Aronson’s paintings are internationally recognized and applauded for their sharply colored and textured depictions of basic natural elements: rocks, leaves, clouds, trees and water. Garrit Henry wrote for the publication Art in America, “Jan Aronson has confessed that Abstract Expressionism is a major influence on her landscapes. With some looking, it’s easy to see that she is something of an expressionist herself. She has traveled endlessly in search of the sublime – she has hiked in the Himalayas and barged down the Amazon, and she knows well the American Northeast and West. How the human self perceives, pictures and, above all, enlarges upon the drama of nature is what Aronson’s work is about.” And Mark Daniel Cohen wrote for the publication Art News, “Everything Aronson depicts has a quality of motion that is like the gesturing of a human body.”
Jan’s newest series of paintings, While Rome Burns, explores the turbulent and seductive elements of water in motion. Many of the pieces take a micro part of a water image and make it macro thus forcing the viewer to confront the interior of the experience. The ominous title While Rome Burns- a reference to Roman Emperor Nero and his legendary apathy in the face of the fires that destroyed the city in the first century- is a sign that Aronson has once again effectively infused her landscapes with her individual perspective. These interpretations result in a visually astounding personal adaptation of the basic elements of nature found around the world. About the series, Jan says, “The title of the series refers to my personal response to current national, international, and ecological events over which I feel I have little or no control.”
Jan’s work is in the public, private and corporate collections of the New Orleans Museum of Art (permanent collection), Eiteljorg Museum of Western and Indian Art (permanent collection), United Nations Watch of the World Jewish Congress (Geneva, Switzerland), United States Mission (Geneva, Switzerland), Residence of the Israeli Ambassador to the United States (Washington, DC), Ronald Lauder Collection (New York, NY), Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT), Glenn Janss Collection of American Realist Paintings, Vermont Council on the Arts, Michael Steinhardt Collection, Jerry Speyer Collection, Karen and William Lauder Collection, Isidore Newman School, Altamer Resort (Anguilla, British West Indies), and Delaware Beverage Company Art Collection… just to list a few.
Migration's exhibition of Jan Aronson’s While Rome Burns will be on view for one more week only.
Images include: Top, Water #8; Middle, Water #10; Bottom, Water #6.
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