On Thursday, Feb. 7 the Homewood Art Workshops, Writing Seminars and Homewood Arts Programs will host artist, author and teacher Barry Nemett. Mr. Nemett will be giving a talk entitled "Fiction and Vision: Pigments of Imagination" at the Mattin Center on Thursday, Feb. 7.
In the talk, which focuses on how his artwork and his writing influence one another, he will present slides of his artwork and read from his 2006 novel, Crooked Tracks. The free presentation begins at 6 p.m. in room 101 of the F. Ross Jones Building of the Mattin Center. He will be signing books after the program.
Nemett, who lives in Stevenson, Md., received his B.F.A. from Pratt Institute and his M.F.A. from Yale University, both in Painting. Among his numerous awards and grants to study and teach in Italy, France, Scotland and Japan; the 1999 Faculty Enrichment Grant given by the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he is painting department chair; and the1978 First Annual Trustee Fellowship awarded by the Maryland Institute College of Art for excellence in teaching.
In addition, he is a frequent curator of traveling exhibitions and has shown his work in both national and international institutions, including the Museum of Art in France, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Japan, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Andre Zarre Gallery and ICE Gallery in New York City and numerous galleries in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
His writing includes articles published in magazines such as the New Art Examiner, an introduction to the textbook Images, Objects, and Ideas: Viewing the Visual Arts, pieces in Forays, the MICA publication of short stories and poems, and, most recently, his novel, Crooked Tracks.
Nemett's artwork explores the layers of what we see when we look at things in real life, especially in nature. Thus, it is fitting that his work includes not only paintings but also room-sized installations which combine his paintings, sculpture and objects sometimes evoking a forest-like sense.
In an artist statement, Nemett said, "Inexhaustibly layered by what is in front weaving into what is in back, that shimmer is lit by intricate blends of shallows and depths, by one rhythm responding to the beat of another, by what is felt stroking what is seen. No matter how much my drawings and paintings celebrate looking through this in order to see that, my primary concern is with the shimmering surface of life."
Nemett's work has been described as narrative, perhaps because in his work he places painted panels one after another, in a story-book sequence. However, he says, "Although these multi-paneled structures often suggested sequential narratives, no chronologically unfolding story was ever intended. Rather, what I cared about most was the creation of a visually dynamic patterned ensemble enveloped by a particular rhythm and atmosphere of color that informed the subject."
Crooked Tracks, published in 2006 by Barnhardt & Ashe, is a mélange of Nemett's work as an artist and his writing skill.
The book, a coming-of-age tale set in the 1960s, includes illustrations by the author himself and poems by his son, Adam Nemett.
The title itself, which a 1998 installation shares, hints at the artist's sense that his writing and artwork are deeply interwoven. This overlap, how both skills have augmented and encouraged one another, will be the subject of his presentation.
