SOAG to sponsor nationally known artist Jim Mott’s Itinerant Artist Project
Jim Mott first conceived of his Itinerant Artist Project (IAP) in the late 1990s, while visiting Ithaca. This summer Mott returns to the Ithaca area at the invitation of State of the Art Gallery, for an IAP residency and exhibit.
Mott and his project have received national attention, including features on the “Today” show (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22472628/ <http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22472628/> ) and in American Artist.
For one month out of the year, Mott makes a road trip somewhere in the United States, staying with voluntary hosts for two to five days and painting small location paintings, one of which is offered in exchange for the hospitality provided.
Mott will be in Ithaca from August 25-September 7, 2011. He is still looking for a host or two for his “painting stops” (contact him at jhmott@juno.com or State of the Art at 607-277-1626).
Paintings he makes during this residency will be exhibited at State of the Art in September as part of one the gallery’s two yearly members’ shows. This exhibition opens Friday, September 2, Gallery Night in downtown Ithaca.
On Sept. 7 at 7pm, he will give a gallery talk about his art and experiences. In addition, he will hold a painting workshop which, he says, will be a double feature that combines his two most popular topics: “Simple and Direct: Small Panel Painting for Artists on the Go” and “The Shadow Landscape: Painting Dusk and Night”. It will be held from 5:30-8:30pm on August 31 at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market. The cost is $35 plus a nominal materials fee for gesso panels.
An interview with Mott on “Out of Bounds” will air Thursday, Sept. 15, at 7pm on WEOS-FM and Sunday, Sept 18, at 11:30am on WSKG-FM. For more information on Jim Mott and the Itinerant Artist Project, please go to his web site: http://www.jimmott.com/
About the IAP, Mott says: “It has been pivotal for my development as an artist. Besides giving me new ways to think about my role as a painter, and as a mediator between art and place and public, the touring has stimulated unexpected productivity, and the resulting artwork has drawn local and national attention.”
ALSO IN SEPTEMBER:
PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, PRINTS, WATERCOLORS, SCULPTURE, CERAMICS AND MORE will be shown by STATE OF THE ART MEMBERS in their second group show of 2011. Show dates for the September Members’ Show and Jim Mott’s paintings from his Ithaca Residency are August 31 through October 2, 2100.