James Van Patten
Discovery is the keynote of James Van Patten’s work. Not for him the spectacular highlights of
the landscape- he seeks rather to penetrate deeper and deeper into the secret places, his
preoccupation with water in the landscape being virtually unique. Whereas others may from time
to time incorporate a stretch of river or a pool in an urban park into the scene painted, Van Patten
concentrates entirely on the margins of water in the wild. Sometimes it may be a long-shot
involving a stretch of water bounded by a little piece of land; sometimes it is an obsessively
detailed close-up of the plants that grow with their roots in the water and their heads in the skybut all have been beautifully rendered in Van Patten’s distinctive art.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
"Though taken from nature, the imagery in my paintings might, at first glance, be unnoticed in the
natural world. Yet it is the mystery of reflection, shadow and light, and unexpected colour, that
makes me want to paint these seemingly throwaway scenes.
"When I have found the image that I wish to paint, I use the intermediate eye of the camera to
see the nuances that I have missed. The anomalies of the camera lens also provide additional
information that exists only in the photograph of the image. By incorporating these qualities, such
as a softening and colour-rimming of the edges, my paintings provide surprises to me and, I hope,
to the viewer. From the beginning of the painting process I know what the image is, but I am
never sure what the picture will be when brought to paint."
BORN: 1939, Seattle, Washington, USA
EDUCATION:
BA University of Washington, Seattle WA. 1961-1965
MFA Michigan East Lansing MI 1965-1968
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2009- “Exactitude, Hyperrealist Art Today”, by John Russell Taylor, edited by Maggie Bollaert.
2000- “New American Painting”, Number 27 Spring
1999- “Watercolor”, an American Artist Publication
1998- “The Artist and the American Landscape” by John Driscoll and Arnold Skolnick.
1996- "A Survey of Contemporary American Realism", Posco Gallery, Seoul, South Korea, 1996
1980- "Spectrum", University of Washington
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SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010- Plus One Gallery, London
2009- 2008- O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
2003, 1999 & 1993- O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
1989- Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
1988- O.K. South, Miami, FL
1988- Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
1987- Soghor, Leonard & Associates, New York, NY
1981- The Channing Gallery, Seattle, WA
1979- Keller Gallery, Portland, OR
1978- Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA
1974- Salem Art Museum, Salem, OR
1972- Main Street Gallery, Seattle, WA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012- “Nature’s Greatest”, Plus One Gallery, London
2009- “Group Exhibition”, OK Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
2009- “Exactitude V”, Plus One Gallery, London
2008- “Exactitude IV”, Plus One Gallery, London
2004- "National Landscape Show" at M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK
2004- "New Realism II", Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
2004- "Everything OK at OK Harris", Brevard Museum of Art and Science, Melbourne, FL
2004- "Exemplary Work", OK Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
2001- "Former Western Art Faculty Invitational", Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR
2000- "Contemporary American Realism III", M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, OK
1999- O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
1996- "A Survey of Contemporary American Realism", Poco Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
1991- "The Heart of America: The O.K. Harris Collection", Dada Building, Fukuoka, Japan
1986- "New Landscapes", Soghor, Leonard & Associates, NY
1981- 78- Richard Nash Gallery, Seattle, WA
1980- Gallery West, Portland, OR
1979- Gallery West Portland, OR
1979- Faculty Collection Show, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR
1978- Gallery West Portland, OR
1978- Keller Gallery, Salem, OR
1977- Montana Art Museum, MT
1977- "Oregon Annual, "Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1977- "Mayor's Invitational Exhibition", Salem, OR
1976- "Mayor's Invitational Exhibition," Salem, OR
1975- "Artist of Iowa 27th Annual", Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA
1974- Memorial Union, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
1972- Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
1972- The Main Street Gallery, Seattle, WA
1971- "Object Makers '71," University of Utah, University of Utah Art Museum, UT
1971- "Northwest Annual," Seattle Art Museum Pavilion, Seattle, WA
1971- "First National Small Painting Exhibition," Albuquerque, NM
1971- "Seventh Annual Printmakers in Oregon Invitational," Portland, OR
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1971- "Form and the Inner Eye," Los Angeles, CA
1971- "Exhibit of Acquisitions to the Permanent Collection", Portland Art Museum, Portland,
OR
1971- Gail Chase Gallery, Bellevue, WA
1971- Travelling Show sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts
1970- "Northwest Annual," Seattle art Museum Pavilion, Seattle, WA
1970- "Tactile Art Show," Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1970- "Mother Earth Show," Sally Judd Gallery, Portland, OR
1970- "Oregon Annual," Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1970- "San Francisco Art Institute Centennial," San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Amoco, Houston, TX
Cenlar Bank, Princeton, NJ
King County Arts Commission, Seattle, WA (3 paintings)
Justice Robert Thornton, Salem, OR
William Lerner, Lerner, Inc., Kirkland, WA (4 paintings)
Lloyd Nordstrom, Seattle, WA
Michigan State University, Kresgee Art Gallery, East Lancing, MI
Office of the Governor of the State of Oregon, Salem, OR
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Dr. Stephen Prokopoff, Director, Museum of contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Puget Sound Mutual, Seattle, WA (3 paintings)
Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville, TN
Washington Mutual Savings Seattle, WA
Lawrence Kasdan, Beverly Hills, CA
E.Jean Belloni, Geneva, Switzerland
New York University, NY
GRANTS
National Endowment for the Arts
Oregon State Arts Grant: Multi-Media Light Sculpture with Dance
National Endowment for the Arts: Multi-Media Light Sculpture with Dance and Motion Picture
Oregon State University Grant: production of Complete Dance Program with Original Score and
Motion Picture
"Oregon Annual," Portland Art Museum Portland, Oregon
Plus One Gallery . 89-91 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8PH . Tel: 020 7730 7656
Email: info@plusonegallery.com . www.plusonegallery.com
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