JOHN NEVILLE COURTHOUSE GALLERY FINE ART
JOHN NEVILLE JUNE 24 - JULY 25, Memory and Desire: The Art of John Neville by Carl Little Rower,, 8 x 10 COVER Herring in the Sea,,, 30 x 40 inches Rum Runners (detail), 2008,, 24 x 36 inches Court Street Ellsworth, Maine 04605 courthousegallery.com 207 667 6611
Memory and Desire: The Art of John Neville In his new work, painter John Neville continues his exploration of subjects inspired by his life in Nova Scotia. A son of the Hall s Harbour waterfront on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, Neville is steeped in the traditions of fishing and boat-building, and this knowledge lends a special resonance to his work. Neville took up art as a youngster, drawings boats and other subjects on the backs of advertisement broadsheets that his grandfather, the village postmaster, gave him. He eventually had some formal art schooling and became a well-known printmaker. For years he pursued a variety of livelihoods, from commercial fisherman to photographer, to support his art. As far as painting goes, Neville considers himself largely self-taught, although over the years he gained technical insights from artist-mentors. While confident in his vision and practice, he continues to aspire to new levels of artistic fulfillment. Followers of Neville s work and there are many will recognize his handsome dories, stylized waves and glowing northern skies, and the dynamic perspectives he employs to present them. What will strike viewers this time around is a heightened boldness in the figural work, plus a painterly quality that distinguishes several recent canvases. Boy and Fish might be an image from a fable. There is tenderness in the way the broad-shouldered young man bears his marvelous orange catch. This reverential vision recurs in Catch and Release. For Neville, this painting represents a shift in mentality, from a desire to catch the last fish to an understanding that the bounty of the sea must be preserved. That bounty is depicted in Net Picker and Herring in the Sea, which gain poignancy in light of the recent closing of the last sardine canning plant in Maine. Another recent canvas, Mark the Spot, testifies to a new aspiration for Neville: to move from a multi-layered image to a more immediate rendering. The fishermen leaning on the rail of their boat are painted with panache, as are the blue fish flashing beneath them. The production of an image is an illusion, Neville states. Working from memory and desire, he creates images and illusions that please the eye and engage the heart. This essay is based on the author s interview with the artist conducted April 29,. Carl Little s latest book is The Art of Dahlov Ipcar. Net Pickers,,12 x 16 inches
Catch and Release 36 x 24 inches The Golden Fish 24 x 36 inches
Boy with Fish 36 x 24 inches Pollock 30 x 40 inches
Food Chain 36 x 24 inches At Sea 24 x 36 inches
School of Fish 12 x 16 inches Porcupine Islands 2009 12 x 16 inches Searching for Major 30 x 40 inches
Wesley and Mike 11 x 14 inches George and Richard in Waves 2009 24 x 36 inches
Brezzing Up etching 37/150 12 x 16 inches Unexpected Wave etching 53/70 17 x 24 inches Salmon Supper etching 9/60 17 x 24 inches
JOHN NEVILLE Young Man Rowing 2005 16 x 24 inches BORN, 1952, Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS Courthouse Gallery Fine Art, Ellsworth, ME, Firehouse Gallery, Damariscotta, ME, 1999-2002 Fog Forest Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick, 1999 Gallery House, Nobleboro, ME, 1993, 94, 96 Houston North Gallery, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, 1992, 93, 94, 96, 2000 Marianne Friedland Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, 1994 South Street Seaport Museum, NY, 1993 Acadia University Art Gallery, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, 1989 Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1988 Great George Street Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 1987 University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, 1980 Last Great Canadian Art Gallery, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, 1977 Anna Leonowens Gallery, NSCAD, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1976 GROUP EXHIBITIONS Courthouse Gallery Fine Art, Ellsworth, ME, 2009 Carol Craven Gallery, Martha s Vineyard, MA, 2002 Acadia University Collection, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, 1999 Houston North Gallery, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, 1984, 85, 87, 88, 91, 99, 2002 Taigh Chearsabhagh, Nort Uist, Scotland, 1998 An Lainntair Gallery, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, 1998 Tobera Mory Gallery, Isle of Mull, Scotland, 1998 ACA Gallery, Manhattan, NY, 1997 Gallery House, Nobleboro, ME, 1991, 92, 95, 97 Open Eye, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1996 Dalhouse Art Gallery, Nova Scotia, 1994 COLLECTIONS Dundee Education Authority Collection, Scotland Saint Mary s and Dalhousie University Art Galleries, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada Council Art Bank Confederation Center Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick Nova Scotia Art Bank & Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia Museum of Fine Arts, Geneva, Switzerland Acadia University Art Gallery, Wolfville, Nova Scotia Esso Resources Canada, Galgary, Alberta The Canadian Fund, Ottawa, Ontaria EDUCATION Bachelor of Fine Arts, NS College of Art & Design, Halfiax, NS, 1972-76 4th Year at Center De Gravure Contemporaries, Geneva, Switzerland, 1975-76 Surf Fishing 2006,, 18 x 24 inches
Robert s Catch,, 16 x 20inches Court Street Ellsworth, Maine 04605 courthousegallery.com 207 667 6611