HouseWorks: Housing Inspired Works by Keith J. Hampton
Church & State acrylic on gallery-wrap canvas 24 x 48 © Keith J. Hampton
Opening in September 2011 is the show “Houseworks” Housing Inspired Works” by ArtSplash artist Keith J. Hampton. The show will feature both new paintings and ceramics in a variety of styles.
Green Pagoda House, white porcelain/acrylic paint 5 W x 4.5 D x 8 H © Keith J. Hampton
The public opening is Saturday, September 10th, 2011, 5:00 to 10:00pm and the show runs through September 30th, 2011
Bird, House - acrylic/pencil on coated paper 25 x 32.75, white mat, framed in clean maple frame © Keith J. Hampton
Artist’s Statement:
A house is the one basic human need we all recognize. It’s the place we hang our hat, sleep and eat when we’re not out in the world somewhere. It may be temporary or for the rest of our lives. It may be a 25-room mansion or a simple tarpaper shack. From opulant to simple, each house is home for someone. And everyone needs a home.
A house may be an investment – a factor made notorious by the recent mortgage crisis. It may be an expression who we are. We’ve all experienced the feeling of “home at last” that happens when we come back from a long trip or a bad day at work. We landscape, decorate or renovate our homes to fit our needs, match how we live and show we want to say about ourselves. Impeccible or trashed, each house in a given neighborhood is a unique thumbprint of the people that live in it.
Country House acrylic/ink on canvas 16 x 20 (available as print or original) © Keith J. Hampton
My quest is to someday build a house of my own design so houses gradually morphed into personal symbols of my life’s potential. Painting and sculpting the houses in this exhibit is my way of inching closer to a goal. I have yet to build my dream home, but I’m “building” many of them with art.
Italian Villa white porcelain/acrylic paint 5 W x 3 D x 5.5 H © Keith J. Hampton
Due to houses complex construction and the need to make them believable, a crash course on architecture was mandatory. Soffits, dormers, chimneys, muntons, balistrades, arches – all need to look “correct” to some degree. It makes my job challenging. It requires both drawing and painting what you see and knowing how each piece fits into the whole – especially when creating a house from imagination.
In order to stay true to my aesthetic bent, these pieces have a variety of styles which help keep the subject matter interesting for me while keeping within the theme gives the overall exhibit a commonality. Due to both the nature of people’s tastes in art and houses, plus my own eclectic approach, house art is an excellent fit.
Dickensian House acrylic on panel 10 x 47.5 © Keith J. Hampton
