Last night, Jack Stratton spoke at Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art in their gallery on Davie Street. The exhibit has been installed since mid-July and will continue through the first week in November. Jack, originally from Western North Carolina, has been creating art his whole life. He remembers his childhood years when art was a somewhat clandestine activity for him. He drew to make visual his aspirations and fantasies. When teachers caught him drawing when he should have been listening, they would take his drawings away, thereby making art seem like a subversive act. As he spoke through the evening, Jack explained that his art is about "the nature of experience and the passage of time." Jack explains that he sees art as a path. "it takes you places; you learn stuff."
Jack's paintings are full of color and the human form. He draws just enough to elucidate the narrative, but no more. His paintings are not cluttered with detail. With his keen sense of color theory, his use of light, and his evoking the earthly elements, Jack has created a style that makes his paintings very identifiable. Jack says he's less interested in documenting an event and more interested in saying something about the nature of the experience itself. Walking through the gallery and seeing Jack's art and then getting to hear him talk about was, indeed, a special treat. We took several photos of Jack, but selected an image that captures the same sense as his paintings. In so many of his paintings, hands are prominently featured. We had to get him using expressive hand gestures, a photo showing the fleeting moment of his interacting with the attendees at the show. We leave you today with a Jack Stratton quote, just in case you are tempted to buy a piece of his art, "Life is short, but art is long." Indeed, art endures, and we are sure Jack's will only increase in value over time.
If you are downtown tomorrow for First Friday, or anytime in October when the Green Hill gallery is open, please stop in and have a look. We are so lucky to have Green Hill as a community resource. Learn more about the center and gallery, here.