Jorin Bossen will be featured in solo show at Santa Monica’s the Upper West.
By Henry K. Long
On Sunday, April 28, 2019, “Notes on Gesture” featuring the art of Jorin Bossen opens at Santa Monica Restaurant, the Upper West with an artist reception from 4-7 p.m.
Bossen started creating at a young age. Raised by artists, he was encouraged to attend museums and galleries. Still to this day he appreciates visiting local galleries.
Like most artists, he works on several paintings at a time. “I work on them concurrently until one starts to take off. Then I focus on that one and get back to the other ones once I am finished.” He added that he often jumps back and forth between his figurative, portraiture and cowboy paintings. “I try to work on similar ones at the same time, but if one series is taking longer I’ll start working on a new one while finishing up the previous.” He spends three days per week working on his art, in addition to a few hours over the course of the week.
“I experiment with variations on my process, but generally I start my paintings in a similar way. Bossen said he looks at his process as if it were a toolbox of techniques. “I’ll use a few of techniques for this painting and a few of the same and a couple different techniques for another painting, said the artist. I don’t use all of the tools/techniques for every painting but each painting comes from a similar place.”
Bossen cited music as being a big part of his process. “I’ll come up with a playlist for different series that have aspects of the mood and feel that I am interested in conveying in the final work.”
The painting, “What am I Doing in This Place?” was based on a found photo. Bossen was intrigued with the two figures in the photo and the relationship between them. “With the woman’s hand on her hip she exudes a certain strength. The image plays with gender roles, the man serving at the behest of the lady.” The artist said he chose to crop the heads of the figures out of the frame so that the viewer would then be drawn into the body language and gestures of the figures. “As with most of my paintings, I wanted to show an aspect of the figures psychology, and with this painting felt that just the figures’ bodies told more than the whole figure would.” He added that he felt the faces would have been a distraction. The simple use of paint highlights these interplays. The light washes on everything but the unclothed limbs of the figures give the painting and the illusion of space an airy quality that lets the viewer focus on the figures relationship.
The community is invited to attend the free opening reception of “Notes on Gesture” at the Upper West on Sunday April 28th, 2019. Meet the artist Jorin Bossen and mingle with Santa Monica locals. The Upper West is located at 3321 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica 90404; 310 586-1111; https://theupperwest.com/ http://www.jorinbossen.com/
