Jack Scott

1980s "#7" Obsessive Cross-Hatch Abstract Charcoal Drawing Minimalist Modern

1980

JACK SCOTT (1953-) About the work: Working on large unstretched canvases and Strathmore paper, Jack Scott draws charcoal arcs in a freehand style. Through placement and density the arcs create patterns of light and dark, vibrating with a luminescence unanticipated by the rawness of the materials. In previous works the arcs coalesced into amorphous forms—romantic sensations suggesting clouds, smoke or fog. With his recent works Scott introduces a concrete graphic form, large bisecting arcs that are giant magnifications of the minutely rendered arcs. Environmental romanticism yields to a bolder sensibility, as these shapes bear relationship to configurations favored by Minimalists and hard-edge abstractionists. However, Scott’s web of soft, undulating arcs subverts the large-scale coolness of the primary form. In this sense the artist’s works remind one of Rothko, whose monumental forms were also conceived through a diffused or soft-edge development. The method of building up freehand forms is remarkable considering the massive scale favored by the artist. From this standpoint his drawing seems imbued with a medieval intensity, displaying a feeling for concentration and handcraft that is often absent from contemporary art. —Hal Fischer Education: MFA San Francisco Art Institute (1978) BA San Francisco State University (1976) College of Marin (1971-1974) Exhibitions Include: Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (solo) Hansen Fuller Golden Gallery, San Francisco (solo) Kirk deGooyer Gallery, Los Angeles, (solo) "California Drawings", Modernism, San Francisco Awards and Distinctions Include: National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Fellowship Grant Marin Arts Council Individual Artists Grant Finalist, S.E.C.A. Award, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Publications Include: Albright, Thomas. Art in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-1980 University of California Press, 1985 Articles and Reviews Include: Fischer, Hal, ARTFORUM Wilson, William, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Rosenthal, Adrienne, ART WEEK Albright, Thomas, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Gardener, Colin, ARTWEEK Solnit, Rebecca. Arts, PACIFIC SUN Pincus, Robert, LOS ANGELES TIMES Frankenstein, Alfred, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Public Collections Include: Prudential, Inc., New Jersey Security Pacific Bank, Los Angeles Illinois Bell, Chicago Atlantic Richfield Corporation, Los Angeles Park Fifty-Five Hotel, San Francisco