January Shows: Karen Eastman and Jon Morse

Upcoming Date and Time

• Thu, Jan 2, 2025 - Fri, Jan 31, 2025  10am - 6pm

Location

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Details

Press Release
First Thursday, January 2nd, 5:00 -9:00 pm

Capitol Contemporary Gallery is pleased to announce two new exhibitions for the month of January— Rock Collection by Karen Eastman and Negative by Jon Morse. We look forward to presenting Morse’s large scale, meditative paintings and Eastman’s paintings that mimic rocks and geographic forms.

Karen Eastman
Rock Collection

I have always loved to gather little pieces of the earth on my hikes in the mountains or on an exploratory walk on the beach. It is like putting a secret in my pocket and bringing home a tangible memory of that experience. I have gathered piles of rocks in various sizes and shapes over the years. I love having them scattered all around my studio, and it feels like a puzzle to make them fit together side by side, or to stack them in an impossible balancing act. Rocks are markers to me, of time, of experience, of the amazing materials that come from within the ground. I love how a cairn can help you find your way along a trailhead or mark a new direction to explore. “Rock Collection” is an homage to all the shapes and forms I have found along the way, and the ones that I have yet to encounter.

Jon Morse
untitled

Negative space is equally as important as its counterpart, positive space. When creating non-representational abstract artwork, the definition of what is positive vs. negative becomes slippery. With no definition of “what it is”, even myself as the artist find it impossible to identify such polarities.

I could spend a lot of time digging through the past and projecting to the future trying to figure out what to do next, but rather than trying to write the story in this way, it is far more authentic for me to just watch the story unfold instead. I like to quiet my mind and tap into the universal flow and bring something back for the viewer to experience…a snapshot of my current energetic inner workings. The magic of art has happened when my intention and the viewers experience meet in the middle.

I do not title my pieces for this very reason. I do not want to clutter your expectation of a piece or attempt to define it. I want to offer you the chance to truly experience art without being guided by my words which will most certainly are unable to convey the ineffable essence of art.

From the initial conception of each piece to the final brush stroke, creating artwork has always been a very cathartic process for me. We all have so much chaos to contend with on a daily basis, it is my hope that the very same calmness that I experience throughout the entire process comes through in each piece for you to experience for yourself.