Dennis Hartley

Artist Statement:
My many years of design-related activity have had a strong impact on my work as a painter. Accordingly, I’m always looking for ways to distill the compositional elements necessary to express a central idea. Up to this point, I’ve avoided any didactic approach, or overtly cultural points of view, in favor of pursuing elemental concerns with space, composition, color, and form. My goal has been to create a body of work that communicates on deep emotional and spiritual levels, and that achieves a degree of universality. I would note that my most fundamental influence has been ancient Chinese painting - its depiction of time and space, expression of duality, and its marvelous iconography of human and nature. I’m also indebted to, and find commonalities with, early modernists of the 20th century such as Morandi, Munch, Mondrian, Bonnard, and Cezanne, to name a few. I find myself returning to the same neutral subject matter, which I express in new ways as I evolve as a painter. The barn, for example, is considered a fundamental and iconic subject for artists, but is often sentimentalized to the point of kitsch. The barn is nevertheless a reflection of the American psyche and representation of the desire for permanence, character, and lasting value.