Jeff Nachtigall: BARRHEAD SUPERSONIC
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Norberg Hall 333B 36 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta T2G 1W2
Jeff Nachtigall, "Backyard," 2021
acrylic, latex, spray paint, ash, magnesium on canvas, 57" x 93"
Jarvis Hall Gallery is pleased to present BARRHEAD SUPERSONIC an exhibition of new paintings by Saskatchewan artist Jeff Nachtigall.
In Nachtigall's practice he seeks out the beauty in the ugliness found in everyday life. The work in BARRHEAD SUPERSONIC reflects on an understanding of place informed by a cold prairie winter. This experience is fed largely by Nachtigall’s return to his home province after an extended time away. The artworks are imbued with both the sense of a desire for escape and yearning to return.
The egalitarianism of material is a compelling aspect of Nachtigall’s work. In the past the artist has used what one could call unorthodox measures to continue creating and working on his artistic practice. When money was tight the artist would dumpster dive for supplies and materials. As he stated in an interview, Nachtigall now uses many different paints in his work but continues to engage in the money saving skills he gained in his youth. Each painting is layered in various applications from spray paint and airbrush to acrylic and latex, texturized with sand or ash. The artist appreciates the fact that acrylic paint is in essence plastic, inexpensive and accessible to everyone.
The paintings appear flat as Nachtigall does not employ 3D perspective. The objects, animals and trees are almost exclusively depicted in profile. This lends a graphic quality to the paintings recalling the work of artists such as Keith Haring, while the influence of great masters such as Gauguin, Basquiat and Guston are notable in his treatment of subject matter, objects and painted plane. Much of his work also acts as a reaction to his formal training as a printmaker, an incredibly rigorous art form. By contrast, in his painting practice Nachtigall has found the freedom to play, explore and retain the mistakes of the process in turn representing the imperfection of life.
Nachtigall has dedicated his artistic career to discovering a way to translate language through the medium of paint and the act of painting. In many ways, his work is narrative based asking the viewer to conjure a story and travel into the place within the paintings, real or imagined. BARRHEAD SUPERSONIC is his response to reacclimatizing to Saskatchewan, translating his own experience of living in the prairie province and the beauty in the everyday junk of his surroundings.
Jeff Nachtigall was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and over the past number of years has split his time between Toronto, Montreal and Regina . Nachtigall received his BFA from the University of Regina and further continued his studies at the Illinois State University. Nachtigall’s work is included in a number of permanent collections including the Saskatchewan Arts Board, RBC Art Collection, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Kenderdine Art Gallery, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Nordstrom Corporate Art Collection (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto & Austin, TX) and many other private corporate collections across North America. Art residencies have taken him to the Banff Centre, Toronto Island, Dominican Republic, Montreal, New Orleans, and upstate New York.
~ Maeve Hanna / Art Writer
"Life in a Pandemic has forced all of us inwards both physically and mentally. This increased isolation brings with it numerous challenges, but there is also an interesting parity that comes with lockdowns and social distancing. Suddenly there aren’t any benefits to living in densely populated urban centers that I had gravitated towards. A lifestyle that afforded one access to opportunities has been hampered by closures… there’s no advantage of living in downtown Montreal or Toronto when you can’t meet gallerists and curators or other artists or attend artist talks or go to openings. Being part of “The Scene” has moved online… and there is no longer any benefit that comes with place… geography doesn’t matter, and a cabin in Saskatchewan is no longer isolated… at least not in the same way it was before the pandemic." ~ Jeff Nachtigall