Joe Goodwin: A Recent Epoch

September 17 - November 14, 2009

reception: Saturday, September 19 4 - 6 p.m.

Ferrin Gallery presents Joe Goodwin: A Recent Epoch a solo exhibition of large scale acrylic paintings and small scale intimate monotypes. Goodwin maintains his residence and studio in Pittsfield, MA

Goodwin, who has been drawing and painting nature since he was a child says, "Making art has always been an integral part of my life and way of being. It is a method of processing my perceptions, it is meditation and a place where I meet with myself; a way of comprehending (or exploring) my relationship to the world."

During his graduate studies at the University of Illinois he began to experiment with abstract imagery and came to understand that abstraction is not a distortion of reality but a more direct expression of its essence. For Goodwin abstraction became a way to deal with characteristics and dynamics that transcend the limitations of pictorial images. A non representational image can arouse feelings, identification and sensation in the memory without specific references which can allow for deeper examinations.

"When I am working, my intentions always give way to the intuitive, exploratory and problem solving process of painting itself which leads to the "flow". It is here that the dictates of the unconscious begin to emerge and register graphically. It's an indescribable sensation to suddenly realize that a painting with it's elements of light, texture, color, etc configure to evoke a place that I remember along with it's experiences." Unlike most painters today, Goodwin makes his own paint from polymer emulsions, dried pigments and various additives including marble dust and silica. Each piece has an average of 40 layers of paint that have been sanded as they accumulate. The unique nature and depth of the surfaces Goodwin creates is a result of this continual adding and removing of layers of paint.

Goodwin has been represented in group shows and had numerous one person shows in the US and Europe. His paintings can be found in major private collections here and abroad. Goodwin's work is in the collections of The DeCordova Museum in Lincoln MA, the Museum of Fine Arts in Flagstaff AZ, the Butler Museum of American Art in Youngstown OH and the Neuberger Museum at SUNY Purchase NY.

A RECENT EPOCH previews on 3rd Thursday, September 19^th from 5 to 8 and will officially open on September 19^th with a reception from 4 to 6pm. The exhibit will be on view through November 14^th.

ARTIST TALK: Joe Goodwin will give an artist talk in the gallery on Wednesday, September 30^th at 7pm.

Photo Caption: Playa Flamingo, Detail, 35 x 40", 2009, Acrylic on Canvas