The Paul Thiebaud Gallery is pleased to announce an upcoming two-part exhibition of oil paintings by Jeff Bellerose. Cities & Interiorsmarks the third show of this representational painter’s work at the gallery. The show runs from June 18 through July 27, 2019. The Interiors series explores two locations and their living spaces known intimately by Bellerose: His family’s home in Boston area (Mansfield, MA) and a summer vacation rental home. The latter—depicted in the majority of this body of work—is better described as a beach cottage, located on Martha’s Vineyard. Bellerose and his family rent the cottage annually for a one-week stay. It has been a tradition since the painter was born in 1973. According to Bellerose, over the years, the cottage has been the subject of hundreds of paintings drawings, and sketches. The Interiors do not convey simply a description of a place. They offer a true sense of a place as experienced by the painter. Their presence is a sensory one; the weight of the saltwater air is palpable, the light diffuses through its heaviness as well. Consistent within all of his work, the conveyance of a particular mood or an emotion is the true focus of each Interior, without the use of figures. They are “unpeopled,” yet there is some evidence that someone was there. The rendering of recognizable imagery through complicated, subtle changes in tonal values, and effects of light and shadow evokes the languor and perhaps melancholy of a summer’s long day. The painting titled Tranquil, depicting a room with a well-worn dining table and chairs, according to the artist, “has a quiet, early morning silence to it, summer warmth, inviting but in a still and slightly solitary way.”
Almost as a foil to the private, almost dreamy nature of the Interiors, the Cities series offers broad, accessible views of urban areas. Though part of an ongoing body of work, the style and handling have evolved substantively. According to Bellerose, he is “often interested in trying to find compositions that have abstract elements to contrast with the representational style of the image. However, a number of these works have a newer element that is this relatively recent interest in the destruction of the image . . . a conflict of realism and painterly effects that cut or scar the image in some way that comes from looser painting styles.” Bellerose received a BA in physics and mechanical engineering from Tufts University. Raised in Boston in a family of artists—his mother is a watercolorist, and his father is a professional illustrator—painting is a lifelong pursuit of the artist. Bellerose lives and works in Oakland, CA.
Reception – Saturday, June 22, 2019, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm; open to the public.
Gallery Hours: Tues. – Sat., 10:00 am–6:00 pm
Contact: Ms. Kelly Purcell, Tel.: (415) 434-3055 / Fax: (415) 434-3057
Check gallery website for hours and additional info
