Education
James Vogel, Artist EDUCATION: Museum of Fine Arts School, Boston, MA Tufts University, Medford, MA: B.FA. U.C. Berkeley, Berkeley, CA: M.A.
Artist's Statement ‘25
I have an enduring respect and interest in the historic evolution of the painting in what is commonly considered the western hemisphere. I employ the formal elements of Painting as a guide and inspiration for my work. My practice is to isolate formal elements such as texture, color, form and line and use these as the creative starting point. In addition to these standard formal elements I also include context and scale. I use a variety of methods and media and work with both traditional and nontraditional materials in the production of my art. The reformulation of discarded objects such as broken chairs and building materials is a process I find rewarding. Reducing these objects to elements that clearly demonstrate their formal values is my entry point then, composition, construction and finally presentation finish the work.
I have liked working with straw because, like paint, it is simple and largely free of style or what I consider, “object personality”. Conversely and because they are rich in style, I have seen potential in rebooting images of the ancient, iconic and outdated. Those that evidence scientifically passe’ practices are of particular value. To me the abandoned relics of human endeavour reveal much about the nature of us as creators. Stripped of their currency these old devices, tools and artworks are reduced mere forms and thus fodder for my artistic mind.
To further demonstrate the formal commonality of all artistic expression I have presented my work in a variety of venues and media including videos in outdoor settings, traditional gallery exhibitions as well as digital submissions.
James Vogel