MIDDLEBURY — Edgewater on the Green will host an opening reception this Friday, July 14, for a July exhibition of artwork that features images that will enthralling anyone who likes summer in Vermont. The show is “Above the Landscape,” the time is 5-7 p.m. at 6 Merchants Rows in Middlebury, and the focus is our bucolic landscape — and skyscape.
The cloudscapes present in Vermont, especially as the early spring births the brilliance of summer, evoke a constant thirst to soak in the humbling display of light, form and contrast, thus inspiring this body of work. Painter Rory Jackson says: “It’s without a doubt that capturing the majesty of clouds and their ever-changing forms is near impossible, but trying to suggest the moments in which they display their poetry across the land is worth getting your brushes wet. In my mind, it is better to create a beautiful failure than to never attempt to capture something beyond your grasp.
His collection for this show is far from failure. He captures the ethereal and intangible qualities of our landscape, rather than perfectly replicating what the eye sees. His ability to do so contributes greatly to his success as a painter.
“In this series I have strived to suggest these moments in time, in which the suspended water in the sky floats above the landscape,” Jackson says.
If viewers comment on only one aspect of Rory Jackson’s paintings, it is most often his execution of clouds. His skilled depiction of the skies of Vermont is nothing short of mesmerizing.
Rory Jackson is known for his dynamic use of values. Large brush strokes provide texture, and careful attention to lights and darks invites the viewer to take in the full scope of the painting. He is highly collected for both his lush Vermont landscapes and his well-executed figurative works, which are often inspired by his annual visits to Cape Three Points, Ghana, where he and his wife founded the Trinity Yard School. Jackson, an Addison County native, studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston and the Art Students League in New York, under the direction of Max Ginsburg. His work has been exhibited in Vermont and New York.
Light refreshments will be served at Friday’s reception.