Jeff Wallin goes painterly

I begin each piece as a quick sketch from a model, working directly with glass powders on a glass sheet surface. No preliminary drawings are used, no tests or experiments. Each new work is itself the test, the experiment, the first impression developed and pushed to a final form. My methods of kiln forming purposefully ignore most of the strict adherence to process normally associated with the medium. The work is driven to completion as part of a dialogue, which begins as a response to the model and then develops in unexpected ways as the work matures over multiple firings in the kiln. The intent is to maintain an attitude of spontaneity and preserve the raw moment when the piece first began. MORE

Jeff Wallin

Over the years, my exploration of the human figure has moved beyond attempting to capture the physical presence of the body. The work has evolved into my meditation on the passage of time, its effects on the body, and the unexpected ways by which an accumulation of marks can acquire new meanings outside of the experiences that created them. Part of the power of art is in its potential to bring out feelings of familiarity and ownership from anyone who views it. This claim encompasses both the subject and the memories surrounding the subject’s history. These works are not meant to convey a specific history; they simply need to be history.