Jeff Bailey Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by John Dilg and drawings by Pete Schulte.
The intimate scale of Dilg’s and Schulte’s works is in contrast to the vast pictorial space they suggest. Each artist uses subtle gradations of color and tone with sharp lines to create both tension and calm.
The view in Dilg’s landscapes is usually from above, like that of a bird. Lakes, waterfalls and gorges recede into space, surrounded by mountains, hills and evergreens. A full moon almost always hovers overhead, and paddlers in a canoe may be passing through. Other paintings depict a bird or cat, seen up close. These views bring us closer to the vastness of the natural world, and to those that inhabit it.
Schulte’s abstract drawings utilize variants of circular, square and triangular forms. Hovering on misty and smoky grounds, they evoke presence and void, image and object. Some are reminiscent of architectural details or molecular systems, while others look like abstract film stills.
There is a mediated quality to Dilg’s and Schulte’s works, possessing both a sense of place and stillness of time. It is within this mysterious realm that the eye and intellect are free to roam.
John Dilg received a BFA in Painting and Filmmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1969. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Grant to India, a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, and three Residency Fellowships at the Yaddo Foundation. Solo exhibitions include Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston; Luise Ross Gallery, New York; Schmidt Contemporary Art, St. Louis; and Rhodes College, Memphis. Group exhibitions in New York include Regina Rex, Queens, NY (two person); Sikkema Jenkins & Co.; Lesley Heller Workspace; Edward Thorp Gallery; and Andrea Rosen Gallery. His work is in the collections of the Arkansas Art Center, the Figge Museum of Art, Illinois State University, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and several other public institutions. He lives and works in Iowa City, Iowa.
Pete Schulte received his BFA and MFA from The University of Iowa in 1997 and 2008, respectively. He has had solo exhibitions Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta; The Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Luise Ross Gallery, New York and Beta Pictoris Gallery, Birmingham. His work was recently included in the group exhibition, Simplest Means, at the gallery’s former New York City location. He has been an artist-in-residence at The Atlantic Center For The Arts, Bemis Center For Contemporary Art, and Threewalls. He lives and works in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.