John Wilton: Floral March 22 2013
Exhibition dates: April 6-27, 2013
Opening: Saturday, April 6, 4-7 pm
Artist’s Talk: Friday, April 19 at 11 am
When April arrives, the spring flower bloom season gains momentum. Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles in Smyrna Beach, FL is celebrating the color, vibrancy and promise of warmer days ahead with an exhibition by John Wilton entitled Floral.
John Wilton is a true mixed media artist, blending several mediums, as well as stylistic conventions, even within a single work. Influenced by American Pop Art, Wilton masterfully combines techniques from painting, collage, printmaking, digital media, photography, sculpture, and even video. In addition to painterly handling, there are machine-generated patterns, apparent repetitions, and abstract forms in combination with sleek photographic stereotypes. Consequently, his process transforms the accustomed into the unusual, giving the viewer a sense of the complex visual possibilities of the everyday world.
This spectacular body of work is a result of an artistic exploration that spans over a decade. “A concentrated focus on flowers began with Memorial Day, 2010 and “blossomed” from there” puns Wilton. “I was exploring sculptural pieces decorated with Pop-infused collage. I had incorporated flowers into many pieces over the years; I began to think about the flower as the dominant subject.”
Like many artists of his generation, John Wilton chooses to find poetic, even epic qualities in the ordinary aspects of contemporary life. His paintings, collages, sculpture and mixed-media works layer images from mass culture with hand-painted and digital passages, replicating the sensory overload we experience in our media-driven age.
An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, April 6, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. John Wilton will give an Artist’s Talk on Friday, April 19 at 11 am. Both events are free and open to the public. The exhibition “Floral” will be on display until April 27, 2013. Works by John Wilton may be viewed online at www.artsondouglas.net.
About Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles: A unique commercial art gallery located in the arts-rich community of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Founded in 1996 by Doris Leeper, artist and Atlantic Center for the Arts founder and artist/benefactor Ed Harris, Arts on Douglas promotes the work and careers of prominent Florida artists. Formerly a used furniture warehouse, and originally a 1930's era Ford showroom and service center, the space was magnificently transformed and has since become a community gathering spot for a discerning mix of art lovers, patrons, and artists.