Celebrating 10 Years, Casco Bay Artisans presents
Russ Cox: New Ways of Living with Art.
A Master Abstractionist Muses on the Objects and Scenes of Everyday Life.
In February 2020, Russ Cox launched a solo show at his longtime gallery Casco Bay Artisans, down on the Maine Wharf. In addition to new large-scale works showing off his bold sense of color and gesture, Cox and gallery owner Jennifer Swarts were launching a collaborative architectural project featuring fine art as a solution to open plan spaces: Paintchitechure™. The pair conceived a method of working that presented a two sided floating canvas to serve as a room divider that wasn’t a wall, but two works of fine art. These could be customized to size and sensibility. The opening was a success. Then the world shut down.
Cox and Swarts continued dreaming up projects together. While the world slowly opened, plans were moving forward. This time, there would be more innovations in how to integrate art with everyday living. Cox got to painting. Swarts started connecting with the other creatives she knows. Now over two years later as the gallery celebrates its 10th anniversary, the fruits of this collaboration are ripe for exhibition.
The centerpieces of this exhibition are a series of unstretched ‘scroll’ works on canvas. Cox’s mastery of gesture, scale and theme collide with contemporary presentation that is both beautiful and practical. The large scale of Cox’s abstractions immerse viewers in a visual field where their world becomes the painting. As ‘scroll’ works, these pieces can be easily moved across the world or just from room to room.
From scrolls, the collaboration moved to textiles. Swarts has always envisioned Cox’s work translating into objects of comfort. For the next project, she paired Cox’s painting with a bench by master woodworker Terry Kelly. Now the works could be an immersive place of solace.
Next, as the world began to reopen and people started to gather again, the direction moved to shoes. Art and footwear have long been companions of each other. It was time for Cox’s pieces to join this subculture. Once again, Swarts tapped into the network of creators in Maine. This time pairing with Rancourt & Co to hand stitch limited editions of three paintings as high and low top sneakers, each to be signed by the artist. Pre-orders will be arranged through the gallery.
The finishing touches on Cox’s show are indelibly works inspired by Maine. From the stunning oceanscapes to the seaweed itself, Vacationland seeps into the very fibers of the canvas with rich blues, the texture of bubbles, and scenes the viewer wants to get lost in.
For More Information & Commission Inquiries
Contact Jen Swarts, Gallery Owner Jen@CascoBayArtisans.com 207-400-6159
Or Jess Lauren, Gallery Manager CBArtMarketing@gmail.com 609-306-0793
Russ Cox ‘Summer Meadow’ Oil on Canvas Scroll 60”x 74” $4900
Russ Cox ‘Seaweed Dance’ Oil on Canvas Scroll 60”x 74” $4900
Russ Cox ‘Sea Urchins in the Sunlight’ Oil on Canvas Scroll 60”x 74” SOLD
Russ Cox ‘Untitled (River)’ Oil on Canvas 48”x60” $6826
Terry Kelly ‘Lilliana’s Bench’ White Ash 42″x 23″ x 32″ $2800 with Cushion $3200
Terry Kelly ‘Lilliana’s Bench’ White Ash 42″x 23″ x 32″ $2800 with Cushion $3200
Russ Cox ‘At the Beach’ Oil on Canvas 48″x60″ SOLD
Russ Cox ‘Graffitti’ Oil on Canvas 60″x48″ $6825
Russ Cox “Change of Season” Oil on Canvas 72″ x 48″ $10,000
High Top Shoe MockUps. Lo Tops Available. Pre-Order Coming Soon.
Russ Cox ‘Under the Surf’ Oil on Canvas 72”x 48” $7500
Russ Cox ‘Plunge’ Oil on Canvas 48”x60” $4900
Russ Cox ‘Tidal’ Oil on Canvas 48”x 60” $4900
Russ Cox ‘Rhapsody’ Oil on Canvas 60”x40 $5200
Russ Cox ‘Day Break on Casco Bay’ Oil on Canvas 54”x38” $4800
Russ Cox ‘Ocean Mist’ Oil on Canvas 54”x36” $2900
Russ Cox ‘Spring Thaw’ Oil on Canvas 76”x 54” (Diptych) $12,500
Russ Cox Artist’s Statement:
I endeavor to create paintings that evoke a sensory experience of place and nature. Paintings emerge from broad intuitive gestures of line and color with layer upon layer of multiple glazes creating translucency and depth both subtle and dramatic. A painting becomes completed for me if it reaches a point of evoking a visceral feeling, with many viewers connecting with their own individualized interpretation.
As a process painter, I mix spontaneity of expression with the reflective development of each painting. My work broadly falls within three themes of often overlapping but abstracted experience: works that elicit a memory sense of experience of the natural environment; works that connect to personal action and movement; and works that splash with color, texture and line, evoking a reactive feeling followed by visual movement throughout the work. My preference is to work on expansive pieces so the viewer feels they are walking into the painting, with details that unfold the closer they get. This is achieved by using a combination of old techniques of glazing and layering while incorporating contemporary staining, field, splatter, hard edge, and bold color techniques. I have developed the bubbling technique over the last decade, vacillating from a central to subtle element. I paint and rework each piece until it resonates a feeling of a place, experience or wonder.
