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Rivazza
2011
Acrylic on Canvas
160cm x 195 5cm
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"The
new artists must make their goal an ideal beauty that is not
merely the proud expression of the species, but an
expression of the universe as it is personified in light"
Guillaume Apollinaire
Peintres Cubistes
To be any kind
of artist requires considerable dedication and stamina. In this
electronically obsessed age to be one who pursues a canon of abstract
painting which has its roots in the early 20th Century may be regarded
as plain backward, out of step at least. However the fascination
with organising flat areas of coloured pigment on rectangles of
board or sailcloth still endures. These paintings by Stephen Jaques
are evidence that this practice can still support art of high quality.
Always a prolific draughtsman, Jaques still draws more obsessively
- for its own sake - than anyone one I know. Lately I have recognised
an affinity with the "Precisionists" - pioneers of abstraction
- like Ilya Bolotowsky and Burgoyne Diller. The critic Carter Ratcliff
has referred to "…(Precisionism's) cousinly resemblance
to Art Deco", a stylistic quality which Jaques' work shares.
Not least there is also resemblance to Navajo rugs ("Eye Dazzlers")
and Middle Eastern Killims - a sheer joy of decoration. Jaques is
a fan of Grand Prix racing - these paintings are as highly tuned
as a Ferrari and as fast on the eye.
©
Geoff Rigden 2001
www.stephenjaquespainter.com
© Stephen Jaques 2012
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