Static Motion is the first online exclusive exhibition of paintings by American artist Jay Pingree. It features a vibrant collection of current works which capture the lost ritual of travel, motion and movement in Pingree's distorted realism style. The exhibition is available to view on our partner platform Artsy.
“We are all in perpetual motion, and rarely still.
Many don’t know how to stop and just be; to observe or ponder; to not think at all; to be present and observe what’s around us. My figures in motion can be thought to represent this unending motion we are all in."- Jay Pingree
This quote, by American artist Jay Pingree, was written in January 2020, pre-pandemic. Who would have ever imagined how unknowingly foreboding his words were and how the unending motion we are all in would be, all of a sudden, suspended.
Jay Pingree features figures on white or neutral backgrounds so that the focus is very much on the distorted movement. His unique style integrates the perpetual movement and motion of figures isolated in their own, often relentless, world of commuting.
“I cull most of my subject matter from the streets and subways of New York. I attempt to capture the congestion and pace of urban environments. Most of the figures in my work are mere glimpses of the subjects, much like one’s experience in a densely populated urban environment.” - Jay Pingree
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The abstract, gestural brushwork illustrates his acute observation of flesh, fabric and form, identifying where information is required and where it is irrelevant. The figures themselves feel random and almost anonymous. The abstraction of limbs, clothing and accessories which present a tangled interpretation of human form, camouflaged by motion is where the mind is left to create.
Spaces left between the shifting shapes and the patterns they create are almost more interesting and important to the composition as the figures themselves. This is what Jay controls fully, figures can be selected then regrouped, repositioned and reordered in a newly imagined dynamic scene or simply left as a solo individual. The spaces, mainly white, offers a base to offset the figures and remove them from reality ever so slightly.
Jay paints quite rapidly and decisively. He appears relatively fearless and free adding subtle layers and accoutrements as though he knows precisely where each element should go.
Realism in figurative painting has been challenged over the centuries. The balance between the amount of information the eyes require to see and what the brain can interpret with just a simple line or form is always subjective and fascinating. Abstract Realism, or in Jay’s case, Distorted Realism draws in the viewer to unpack and reorder how they view the subjects, which information or lack of information will inform the characters and narrative.
This collection of paintings is a testimony to the lack of movement, travel and commuting that has become a reality over the past 12 months. Jay Pingree’s solo gallery exhibition Commuters opened in Sweden at the Nordic Art Agency in April 2020. Little did we know that the world would be entering into a period of isolation and confinement, where the simple daily commute would be the first of many aspects of life to be removed and reduced.
Static Motion is the Nordic Art Agency’s first online exclusive exhibition of work by Jay Pingree. It is a collection of current paintings which exist and capture a lost ritual of movements and moments in time.
Listen to Jay Pingree on the Nordic Art Agency Podcast, where he discusses his painting practice and artists’ journey. The podcast can be found across all podcast platforms or on our website.
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View the exhibition at Artsy.net or contact the gallery directly for more information about available sculpture featured in the exhibition.