James Chronister

In BLACK AND WHITE

March 28, 2009, Written by Kristi Beardshear

James Chronister's uses a fascinating technique that gives the paintings in All We Ever Wanted Was Anything a unique depth. Having done a little pre-hop research, I was clued into the intricate levels of his work. Chronister begins by painting a canvas black and adds dots of white paint, dab by dab, until an image emerges. Viewing the work in person I was shocked to learn just how elaborate and how large his pieces are.

The simplicity of the technique’s concept belies the complexity of the process. As I studied the paintings, alternately leaning in and stepping back, I imagined a man, bent over in his studio, slowly adding dot after dot, layer after meticulous layer. Viewed closely they look like, well, exactly what they are—thousands of tiny white dots against a sea of black. Remaining grounded in such a disorienting landscape takes inimitable vision and a heck of a lot of stamina.

The paintings, most left untitled, are astounding. Chronister focuses primarily on landscapes in which the natural contrast between light and shadow, white and black plays a dominant role. In Untitled (Snowy Forest) and Untitled (Large Snowy Forest), the stark whiteness of the snow that blankets each trunk, branch, and twig throws the black mass of forest into sharp relief the way a camera flash illuminates a darkened scene. And like a flash that quickly fades into darkness, Chronister's landscapes are ephemeral, quickly losing form and cohesion as the viewer leans in for a closer look.

Untitled (Dark Forest) is especially striking in its volatility. The form of the landscape, a dense, sun-dappled forest, is clear only when viewed from across the room. Walk closer and forms begin to scramble and separate, the landscape becomes only a suggestion of one. Walk even closer and the scene becomes a tangled web of black and white, like an extremely complex Rorschach test.

JAMES CHRONISTER: ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS ANYTHING
Eleanor Harwood Gallery
1275 Minnesota Street, Suite 206, San Francisco, CA, 94107
March 14, 2009 - April 18, 2009