D e n n i s H a r t l e y A r t
Throughout my career as a painter, I've maintained the same philosophical perspective, while exploring different ways to express core ideas. This journey began with the literal, and has evolved gradually towards the abstract.
My most fundamental influence continues to be ideas inherent in Taoist and later Buddhist philosophy and reflected in ancient Chinese painting: duality/non-duality, depiction of time and space, and the iconography of what is historically called “man and nature.”
I'm indebted to early modernists of the late 19th and early 20th century such as Pierre Bonnard, Giorgio Morandi, and Henri Matisse, to name a few. Later American influences from mid to late 20th century include Milton Avery, Richard Diebenkorn, Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, and Mark Rothko. Current artists with whom I share common threads include Sean Scully, Gerhard Richter, and Chuck Close.
I began my journey as a professional painter exploring rural Oregon with my camera in my cargo van dubbed “Vinny Van Go”, seeking what inspired me. I gravitated towards imagery of common barns, and coastal rocks, water, and sky. Bringing my architectural background to bear, a style of fractured and distilled imagery gradually emerged.
The website imagery is categorized into five overlapping headings: Fractures (2017-18), Meditations- (2016-17), Yin-Yang (2009-11) Fragments & Grids (2005-09), Distilled Fields (2003-06)