Lone Star :
Jason Glasser

May 11th - June 10th, 2012

Jason Glasser’s art is regularly full of surprises, and it often seems that his ongoing involvement with music (he was a founder of the band Clem Snide) provides the lubricant that allows him to slide easily between disciplines, from figuration to abstraction, and from sound to painting to video to installation. In his third solo show at Parker’s Box, Jason Glasser departs from the familiar quirkiness of a huge cast of characters and turns his attention to light effects in painted forms that include light sources and play with multiple simple shadows, colors and shapes. The exhibition title, Lone Star is taken from a new film, also more abstract than his previous video works, and largely influenced by his year-long residency in the bright and ever present light of Texas.

The new work that Glasser has been producing during his year in Texas, and that he has pursued in a residency at Parker’s Box, might at first sight seem like something of a radical departure from those previous preoccupations. The artist has built some flat wood forms – imperfect circles or more irregular shapes, destined to be painted, wall-based works, usually with the addition of a large light bulb in the center, and an arrangement of “fins” intended to direct the light and shadow in specific directions. Jason Glasser has spoken about the striking presence of blazing sunlight in Texas (“clear, dry, powerful”) and in relation to his new work, he says that “the sun-- as an idea, a presence, and a symbol-- plays a central role in these works”. At the same time, in describing his inspirations for these new pieces, Glasser refers to many of his old favorites, so in many ways, he is looking at some of the same territory with new eyes – thanks to the transforming influence of a year in Texas. .

Blue Jays and Cardinals,2012, Acrylic on copper and wood