Jonathan Forrest: Here and There
At once minimal and painterly, loose and controlled, geometric and gestural, the works demonstrate Forrest's unique aesthetic sensibility and masterful sensitivity to the medium of paint. Richly saturated colors, elegantly matte surfaces, and an improvisational play with density and structure define this group of works, Forrest’s latest contribution to the lively field of contemporary abstraction.
Born in Scotland, Forrest immigrated to Canada as a teenager, coming of age as a painter in Saskatoon in the 1980s. He relocated to Vancouver Island in 2013 but has maintained a summer studio in rural Saskatchewan, dividing his painting time between the two locations. In a literal sense, the title of the exhibition speaks to this geographic split, acknowledging the influence of place and some of the ways it finds expression in the work. Not necessarily the visual aesthetics of the landscape--the differences in topography, sight-lines, or the quality of the light--but rather in how the studio environment and working pace contribute to the development of the paintings. Vancouver Island offers Forrest proximity to the comforts of home, studio time there is folded into his daily routine. The rural studio, on the other hand, is spacious but also isolated, it necessitates an intensive and largely solitary way of working, longer days, limited contact with the outside world. Subtly, these factors change the work. Ultimately, one of Forrest's greatest strengths as a painter is his openness to these changes. When he arrives in Saskatchewan, it is always with a plan for how he will start out, but also with an eagerness to "see how it goes".
In a less literal sense, the easygoing offhandedness of the exhibition title captures this attitude, which seems so fundamental to Forrest's identity as a painter. Despite his decades of experience, his goal in painting is not "mastery" per se, but rather a state of almost perpetual discovery. Paint is a mercurial medium, fluid, malleable, it bleeds, stains, runs, and drips. The painter's task is arguably to shape the medium to their will. Any painter with a degree of experience learns a great many techniques to make the paint do what they want it to do. A responsive painter learns how to collaborate with the medium; not to beat it into submission but to work with it; not to deny or kill its fluid malleability, but to guide and harness it for dynamic effect. Forrest's latest paintings do just that, finding a compelling balance in the medium's inherent tensions.
(*Written by The Gallery / art placement inc.
Jonathan Forrest, "Night Owl", 2024, acrylic on canvas, 32x24"
Jonathan Forrest, "Blue Crescendo", 2024, acrylic on canvas, 32x24"
Jonathan Forrest, "String Section", acrylic on canvas, 32"x24"
