JERRY LYLES PAINTING AND DRAWING

ARTIST STATEMENT

Most of my current work is based on an observational, referential reaction to my environment. I am interested in the tension between space and our reaction to it.

​

The impact of a sense of place as well as the actual physical aspects of a location can have a profound impact on people as individuals and communities. How is space used? Who determines its usage? When land is developed what is being gained and what is lost? How does space impact our sense of identity and when that space is altered what is negotiated in order to retain a sense of self? Who determines what the face of the future will look like and for what reasons? What in our environments do we regard as being of value and how is that value communicated and transferred?

​

These are some of the questions motivating my investigations.

​

My interest in the sky as a subject matter for painting is also related to this same content but in a different way. In the sky we see shifting color patterns which repeat based on reoccurring conditions of light based on the rotation of the earth relative to the sun. They seem to follow a rhythm but are never truly the same. Cloud formations also appear to repeat based on seasonal weather patterns but no two are ever really alike.  The forces of change and timelessness, impact all of us in ways which are both obvious and imperceptible.

​

Still life has a strong narrative application. The objects which we surround ourselves with often speaks to what we regard as important or of value. We give an object value based on many factors, cultural significance, personal experience,  memory and even functionality. All play a role. The object then has the capacity to encapsulate a train of thought or to suggest a range of potential. When these potentialities are set in relationship to each other a dialog or conversation can be created. The conversation can then be read, not as an allegory with one to one relationships, but as metaphors and archetypes with various possible meanings based upon a general track

In my work I am searching for visual metaphors which discuss these relationships.