Featured artist: Jivan Lee
Monument #8 - sundown storm, 30x104, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Much of Jivan Lee’s work arises from an intensive process of repeatedly painting at the same locations over months, seasons, and years. Each day on location contributes to larger arcs of work that borrow from his previous career in science and almost empirically investigate time, change, and human perception.
Q: How did your multiple-panel landscape work originate? Was it logistical due to the size of the pieces?
The first large work I did was a 10' piece that I made with my 1989 Toyota Camry sedan, so it didn’t fit, and I had to figure out a way to transport a 10' piece in my back seat. It involved three 30x40 linens, elaborate bungee cords, and mishaps. But I managed. When I finished the piece, I was struck by the effect that the separations had on the experience of continuity in the image and my resulting awareness that I was looking at a painting. From there, I experimented further and increasingly felt it was a strong logistical and aesthetic option that let me do things I otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.
The Gorge, in four, 84x64, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: Do you know how big your pieces are going to end up being? Or do you add panels to them as you are painting?
Sometimes – it depends on the day. Mostly I don’t know until I start. And then, things can change dramatically as the weather builds or my attention develops. So I’ll add panels to follow what’s arising.
Twelve-Storm #12, 24x18, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: Are your pieces completed on location? Or do you do some studio touch-ups?
It’s a mix. I don’t really care about where or how the piece is finished so long as it’s finished well. Painting on location is an act of devotion, the pursuit of felt sensation, and a contribution from nature more than an idea or rule I need to follow. It’s about increasing freedom and spontaneity in the process, and if it is in the way of doing that or of making good work, then it’s not helping anymore. So I paint outside until it’s not helpful for the work and then take it back to the studio.
Fields Above the Rio Hondo, 48x90, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: Your paintings are far larger than is typical for plein air work. What considerations do you have to make due to their size, e.g., paint, materials, composition, or time?
Well, I bought a Toyota Tundra to work large outside, so my vehicle is a big consideration. I also have to store wet paintings and have sufficient supplies on hand. And adequate sun and rain protection (a canopy, pieces of cardboard, etc.). Wind is a real pain, so I try to work behind a windbreak of some sort (usually my truck), and I have to tie and weigh everything down. I also need to expect that the size and logistical inconvenience will likely lead to extra costs and lost materials.
Twelve-Sunset #3, 24x18, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: In your work, the textural mark making seems almost, if not more important than, the subject. Is that true for you too?
In some sense, I look at the subjects of my work as time and change and perception, and landscape is a great medium to work with these ideas. And paint’s innate non-objectivity, and meaninglessness, make it a cool tool for exploring perception – somewhere from meaningless marks comes a coherent image in illusional space. It’s a wild and remarkable happenstance of human experience. So the texture is about letting paint be paint, material, clearly not an image, and then still having a compelling image with all the attendant associations developed from the textural, colorful mark-making.
Q: Your outdoor studio is quite impressive. You can go almost anywhere in it. Do you set out each day with a location in mind?
It depends on the project or show I'm working on and what phase I’m in. Initially, in a project or show, I am following hunches and seeing what pans out, and then as I grasp more of what I’m working towards, I start being more focused. But there is always an element of surprise; I don’t ever really know exactly where I’ll be or what I’ll paint. Only generally, if at all.
Detail of 10,000 Mountains, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: This month (June ’23), you are releasing a book, 10,000 Mountains, depicting your 2021 installation. Tell us about this and where we can pick up a copy.
Yeah! Exciting. It’s the first of five I’ll be releasing from the project. I painted at the same spot for five seasons and ended up with (360) 14x11 Gessobord panels spanning around 125 painting days. Each season is a 6x21' installation, and I translated the installations into book format to pursue the effect of time on the experience of a place, art, and our own ebbs and flows of attention. It’s available on my website.
Riverbends-Summer 1-4, 30x30, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: Do you notice the changing landscapes as you paint in the same locations year after year?
Very much so. It’s one of my biggest interests. And part of why I’m developing book-format presentations of the projects. The changes through seasons and years are a long-form way of coming to know something, and the visual story is richer for it. So I hope to present some of the other long-form projects beyond 10,000 Mountains soon in their own books.
Downstream Tree-Spring #3, 48x48, oil on Ampersand Gessobord
Q: What do you love most about Ampersand Gessobord panels for your work?
They’re well constructed and provide a strong surface I can really work into; applying, scraping, reapplying. And I very much care about Ampersand’s environmental-conscientious efforts and materials sourcing. So for me, it’s the combination of a fantastic working surface with longevity that can stand up to my muscular and intense process and the effort to work towards products and manufacturing that is better for the wider environment.
Artist Bio:
Jivan Lee is an oil painter based in Taos, NM. He grew up in Woodstock, NY, and studied painting and environmental policy at Bard College. He sold cheese at the Union Square Farmer’s Market in New York City after graduate school, taught for the University of New Mexico in Taos, and founded and directed the Project for Art and the Environment. Today the heart of Jivan’s work is an outdoor painting practice that explores time, change, and the complexities of how humans see and shape the environment. His work has been the subject of a number of solo exhibits and written about in Southwest Contemporary, The Santa Fe New Mexican, The Albuquerque Journal, Fine Art Connoisseur, Western Art & Architecture, and Phoenix Home and Garden, among other publications. To see more of Jivan's work, visit his website, Instagram, and Facebook.
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