Jason Gubbiotti lives and works in the countryside, just outside of Paris, France. He received his BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in 1998.
Since then, he has exhibited in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. His solo exhibitions have been mounted at Civilian Art Projects, Hemphill , PAH Projects and FUSEBOX. Selected group exhibitions have been “ Landscape Confection” curated by Helen Molesworth at The Wexner Center for the Arts, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and The Orange County Museum of Art, Centre d’art Contemporain, Atelier Estienne ( France ), FRIART / Kunstalle Freiburg ( Switzerland) , Flowers Gallery in London, Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken( Germany) The Katzen Arts Center, and Curator’s Office in Washington, DC.
In 2007, he received a Bourse d’aide a la creation, Direction Règionale des Affaires Culturelles, Metz, France and in 1997 a Vermont Studio Center Artist Grant.
In 2021-2022, he will be a mentor of painting at Turps Banana in their Correspondence Program which is based in London.
Artist Statement
As a painter, I use what historically may be considered to be traditional materials: paint, canvas and wood.
With the materials clearly defined however, the matter then becomes how I manipulate them. Canvas and linen can be used for their intrinsic colors and textures. Paint is used as a means of creating images but also at times an adhesive. The wooden supports for these paintings are not neutral and take on an active role in the paintings posture in the world. I constantly use these rudimentary materials in various ways in my work to provide a unit of measure within the body of work.
My paintings are built. Each work begins with the construction of a unique physical support. No two are alike.
It is these initial shapes and structures that often influence the rest of the painting. Some structures are flat. Some bend. Some are lean. Some are husky.
Ultimately, the wooden supports set the tone for the entire process. Once a support is established, I turn my focus towards the painting surface, which can be left as a primed, smooth wood panel or wrapped in cotton, linen or acrylic canvas to provide a texture that is dictated by the weave of the material. Once the painting process begins, little trace of traditional brushwork is apparent to the viewer. However, on closer inspection, it is apparent that the paintings are not machine perfect.
There is evidence left behind from the painting process that can be viewed as a slow form of improvisation. Intuition does not always provide the best results; therefore, alterations and repairs take place.
It is in these sometimes incomplete reparations, these “imperfections”, that the painting is propelled forward from its initial plan to a realm not preconceived. Each painting is then able to inhabit a new singular identity. As a result, my paintings may appear as if they are in transition, incomplete or unfinished. There are unpainted areas, passages built up more than others, and systems stopping short of a pattern.
In these moments where my process is revealed the viewer is able to access the most formative stages of each painting. Nothing is eclipsed. From the way the paintings’ supports are built, to their external surfaces, the entire process is transparent. The materials and their execution are all on display. Each layer is offered up for the viewer to discover, examine, and consider.
My paintings can be viewed as models for public power.