The name is The Dowser, 2001-2002, oil on canvas. The artist is Julian Hatton. The work is brilliant.
I was present when this massive painting was purchased, delivered, unwrapped and then thoughtfully and carefully hung in perfect placement on the wall. And it is just stunning. The colors are incredibly vibrant – it is a favorite of this art enthusiast, without a doubt. I have been fortunate to be exposed to so many beautiful works of art and antiquities – more than I would ever have imagined – up close and personal. I have also since grown to appreciate all forms of abstract art – hence my love for this particular painting “The Dowser” by Julian Hatton, an American landscape abstract artist from New York City whose paintings have appeared in galleries in the United States and France. Some of his other works and monoprints include the Tumbler, Trouble, The Return of Black-Eyed Susan and Mystic, to name just a few. (I have my eye on The Warbler.)
In his own words, when asked about this particular abstract piece, the painter, graciously explained his process….
“My names for paintings are usually metaphors. They try to be more suggestive than definitive of any particular interpretation of the painting. In fact, I prefer the name to be more confusing than clarifying, to the extent the name allows the viewer ample opportunity to perceive it their way, not mine.” JH
“All my paintings are reflections of what I am interested in at that time, in the area of aesthetics and painting. Aesthetics in the sense of what is beautiful, which to me is just a word that means “worth looking at”. Painting in the sense of what techniques and procedures produce make the something worth looking at, especially relative to reality, because reality is worth looking at, often more interesting than what artists make.” JH
“I come out of a tradition of landscape painting. But I have never been interested in mimesis, as in copying nature. I want to make it my own, interpret it thru my eyes and emotions. In my early years I rode my bike and paint kit out to Prospect Park to paint ‘en plien’ air all day, then by night I’d be in The Water Club parking lot. Now I am primarily a studio painter, feeding on what I absorbed from those decades of painting outside. The subject matter is still landscape, but quite abstract, and often obscure. I am still focused on oil painting techniques and procedures, especially formal issues, as in, how to compose and design a two dimensional surface that works for me. And “works for me” is another way of saying, “I think this is worth looking at forever”. JH
And for those that may be googling THE OTHER MEANING OF THE WORD Dowser…Dowsing is the action of a person–called the dowser–using a rod, stick, or object hung from a string–called a dowsing rod, dowsing stick, (when used to locate oil), divining rod, or pendulum–to locate such things as underground water, hidden metal, buried treasure, oil, lost persons or golf balls, etc. – Webster’s.
The Greene Door Gallery awaits you.
photographs by Viva Violeta Photography
