Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

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.

Lakeville Journal

Latest News

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds at an Aug. 27 town meeting.

Alec Linden

SHARON — Sharon voters unanimously approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds between the town’s ambulance service and a regional fund supporting addiction prevention, harm reduction and mental health services.

The decision Thursday, Aug. 27, came two months after voters rejected an earlier Board of Finance-backed proposal, 27-11, at a June 18 town meeting. Residents had expressed concern about directing all the money, which must be used for opioid remediation, to a regional organization rather than supporting the town’s emergency medical service.

Keep ReadingShow less
municipality

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.