JONATHAN CHAPLINE: HUNTER GATHERER
© Jonathan Chapline
NANZUKA is presenting a solo exhibition with New York-based American artist Jonathan Chapline. This exhibition marks Chapline’s first solo showcasing in Asia.
Chapline graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, recognized as one of the most prestigious and highest ranking art academies in the United States.
In the context of Chapline’s work, the word “rendering” extends beyond the framework of computer language to be used as an art term. From the shape of the objects, to the perspectives from which they are captured, the texture of their surfaces, the light source, and shading, Chapline simulates all physical elements necessary for the production of his paintings in advance on a computer screen using a 3D program.
Such production method seems to be in denial of the classic art historical myth that describes the painter’s eyes as being nurtured through the act of sketching. Interestingly however, Chapline studies the masterpieces of artists such as Cézanne, Picasso, Fernand Léger, Matisse, Max Beckman, Philip Guston, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Archipenko, and Henri Laurens, and engages in depicting numerous works that attempt to mimic and reinterpret them through his own distinctive style. For Chapline, who is a part of a digital generation that is able to use a mouse as one would do so a pencil, it is a natural conclusion for 3D screens visualized through programs to also illustrate an array of inconsistencies likewise to natural human vision. In many cases, this is a precursor for a positive discovery on part of the artist.
© Jonathan Chapline
On the occasion of this exhibition, Chapline has produced 10 new paintings and 2 three-dimensional works. For Chapline, who transcribes various forms into objects in advance to serve as components for his paintings, three-dimensional works are but an extension of his painterly practice. His works could thus also be regarded as an endeavor to control physical space through the interaction of 2D and 3D.
An opening reception attended by Jonathan Chapline will take place on Friday January 31st at 18:00-20:00.