Artist Goodwin describes his works as 'metamorphic'

LAKEVILLE — When a visitor stopped by his studio in Pittsfield, Mass., last week, artist Joe Goodwin showed hima piece of burned bone he found while “gathering.â€

“Look at the colors, the texture where the outer part burned off and left that marrow exposed,†he said.

Goodwin, whose abstract paintings are on display at the Tremaine Gallery at The Hotchkiss School, described his work as “metamorphic.†He finds inspiration in volcanoes, lichen on rocks, the walls of a moss garden in Japan patched over the years until the natural and manmade combine into a single entity.

“I like a geologic look, a painting that looks like it happened.â€

He’ll leave a drip or two, however, just to remind the viewer that it was, in fact, painted.

Goodwin has been painting abstracts since graduate school at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign.

It represents a complete shift from his undergraduate days as a superrealist, recreating photographs as faithfully as possible.

“I came in with a superrealist portfolio; I was the only one there. When they asked me why, I didn’t have a good answer beyond ‘People say wow when they see it.’

“I got in a real quandary. I stopped painting and started gathering material — from junkyards, railroad yards, anywhere. I had a big pile in the studio, and I started exploring sensibilities.â€

And after doing some installations — “what was called ‘assemblage’†— Goodwin started painting again, in abstract form.

“I don’t try to mimic things. It’s an exploration of the unconscious.â€

He begins a painting with a colored ground base, applied to the canvas “without any intention.â€

“Then I pick up a brush with another color and start playing.I build on that. The painting dictates how it goes.

“After a few layers I get into decisions about contrast, balance and harmony. Things begin to flow, and I make formalist decisions without really thinking about it.â€

He’s been trying to make a red painting for a while. “Every time I try a red painting it comes out green or blue.â€

How does he know if a painting is not working?

“It’s just sort of irritating — like some people.â€

Goodwin received a big commission for a one-man show in Frankfurt, Germany, in the mid-1980s. He had four months to create 10 pieces, a task he found daunting, and when he encountered a problem with one piece, “often the answer was in the next one.â€

So now he works on several paintings at the same time.

“I don’t have failures, they just change. I’ve exhibited paintings, then brought them home and painted over them. I’m painting from inner necessity. It’s about getting out of your own way.â€

Goodwin sipped his coffee, thought for a moment, and continued.

“It’s like jazz — you need the formalism, but then you break the rules while still knowing when you’re going over the line.â€

The show at the Tremaine Gallery continues through Feb. 3, with a “meet the artist†reception on Saturday, Jan. 16, 4 p.m. For more information see the gallery Web site at hotchkiss.org/Arts and then do a search for Goodwin.