Opening reception: Friday, February 27, 6:00 – 7:30 pm  

 

SPSCC art students in Liza Brenner’s painting class, in collaboration with Jonathan Happ, will participate in a multi-session workshop that culminates in an exhibition of the work in The Leonor R. Fuller Gallery. Students will experience all aspects of a collaborative project, including planning, production, installation, and presentation

Artist

Jonathan Happ

Collaborating Artist

Artist Statement:
My work is rooted in an interest in painting’s relationship with time. My figurative practice lead me from medical anatomical study to painting the iconic Pacific Northwest forests which shifted my subject into something more like landscapes. Formally, I am interested in the combination of color palettes, mark, and composition, and my recent area of focused study is expressionist art. My practice and training is rooted in direct observation, which I take into the studio to create something new through the process of painting. My goals at this time are to simplify my imagery and collapsing my drawing and painting practice to create a psychological space for viewers. Every painting is an experiment with a different set of boundaries, together they may allude to a larger idea.

Artist Bio:
Born in Sterling, IL. I received a BFA from Iowa State University and an MFA from University of Washington. I am an international art scholar, and awarded fine art instructor, having taught privately and at the University of Washington-Seattle, UW-Bothell, The Evergreen State College, and Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. I currently reside in Tumwater, WA with my wife, daughter, and cat, and am the gallery director at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia.  

Jonathan Happ Working with Students for Collaboration Installation

Artwork

Art Work

Chronological

How we spend our days
is, of course,
how we spend our lives…
- Annie Dillard


This project is a collaboration between Liza Brenner’s ART 160 painting class and Tumwater painter, and gallery director of Childhood’s End Gallery, Jonathan Happ.

The project engages the historical genre of vanitas still life painting and its meditation on time: its passage, brevity, and suspension within oil paint. Each student was assigned a single, randomly selected hour of the day, along with a limited color palette, and asked to construct a visual reflection of personal life through objects of daily ritual.

Installed together, the works unfold across a complete twenty-four hours. The gallery becomes a timepiece, accumulating gestures, habits, and quiet ceremonies that together form a collective portrait of contemporary student life rendered in paint.

Thank you for this opportunity

Jonathan Happ