Virginia Bradley and Paul Davis Jones Exhibition

Posted on: Saturday, March 9th, 2013

Duo Exhibition: Virginia Bradley – A Fragile Grace, Paul Davis Jones – Surfacing: Recent Paintings

Posted on: Friday, March 1st, 2013

Virginia Bradley Virginia Bradley | Wind, 2012 | Mixed media on birch panel with carving | 9’ x 8’

Virginia Bradley

A Fragile Grace

Paul Davis Jones Paul Davis Jones |Rainswept, Burnt Orange | Acrylic, metallic pigments and interference | 56” x 64”

Paul Davis Jones

Surfacing: Recent Paintings

March 1 – 30, 2013
Artist Reception, March 2, 5 – 7 pm
First Friday, March 1, 6 – 8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to announce the exhibition of works by Virginia Bradley and Paul Davis Jones in their first solo exhibitions at LGTG. Jones was included in the RSVP 3 invitational in 2012.

Water is one of the most basic, foundational elements. However, humanity’s relationship to this element is nothing if not complex. Water is a life giver providing nourishment to the land and the body, but it also holds destructive powers sweeping away villages and cities that dare to challenge its might or contain its borders. Water is therefore both friend and foe. This dichotomy has proven ripe for artistic exploration throughout the annals of art history as well as in more contemporary works such as those by Bradley and Jones.

Virginia Bradley’s work, “A Fragile Grace”, focuses on the destructive power of water as well as the contrast of the manmade with the natural world. Reflecting the artist’s love of exploration and travel, this brooding series focuses on the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, which flooded landscapes, decimated towns and set off a chain of nuclear accidents. Employing a variety of mixed media and techniques, Bradley carefully constructs her compositions balancing destruction with a sense of beauty. Bradley juxtaposes tumultuous forms with more graphic imagery from the tsunami and 15th Century Venice, a city that famously maintains a delicate relationship with its waterways and canals. Light penetrates the density and darkness of the work as Bradley entices the viewer to further investigate the alchemy of imagery and material.

Virginia Bradley is a Philadelphia artist and professor of art at the University of Delaware. She holds a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Miami, and a MFA from the University of South Florida. Bradley has exhibited her works locally and internationally at such places as Freedman Gallery at Albright College, Abington Art Center, The Minneapolis Institutes of Arts, Hoyt Institute of Art, Delaplaine Art Center, and the Florence Biennale in Florence Italy. Bradley was a recipient of the McKnight Foundation Fellowship in Painting, Arts Midwest NEA Fellowship for Painting, and two Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowships in Painting and Drawing.

In “Surfacing: Recent Paintings”, Paul Davis Jones creates tranquil and meditative spaces. In a nod to the Impressionists, painterly strokes of color dance across the picture plane evoking the peaceful movement of a babbling spring. As with Monet’s “Water Lilies,” Jones’ paintings give “the illusion of an endless whole, of water without horizon or bank” (Claude Monet). Although formally linked, Jones’ abstract compositions are surprisingly complex. To achieve their fluid and visceral quality Jones skillfully builds up his surface with layers of color and metallic pigment. Heavily reliant on process, these atmospheric and light-soaked painting are often the result of over 50 layers.

Paul Davis Jones is a self-taught artist living in Philadelphia. Originally from New York City, Jones earned a PhD in Humanities from the University of Syracuse. After a career as a lecturer and professor, Jones went on to co-found the IDPR Group, a Boston-based company specializing in strategic philanthropy, which partners corporations and wealthy individuals with non-profit organizations. Jones began his latest reinvention as an artist after moving to Philadelphia in 1999. He has shown his work locally in group and solo exhibitions.