David B. Smith Gallery is proud to present Skies, by Hudson, NY - based artist Jason Middlebrook. In his second solo exhibition with the gallery, Middlebrook takes inspiration from lived experience and the natural world with his signature hardwood paintings.
Familiar yet enigmatic, the sky in its endless variants serves as muse in Skies. Never the same twice, the sky is ever-changing, differing dramatically from place to place and throughout each day. At times seemingly benevolent and at others cruel, vast sky is in constant diaphanous conversation with the landscape and activity below.
Middlebrook's signature "canvas" of polished cross sections of hardwood speaks to the artist's deep tie to nature and its innate universal appeal. Striated with undulating rings, and sourced from a mill located in the Berkshires, local indigenous hardwoods such as cherry, walnut, maple, elm, white oak, cottonwood, and Cairo walnut are among the hardwoods Middlebrook uses in his works.
Wonderfully organic and irregular, the silhouette of works featured in Jason Middlebrook's Skies balance the airy weightlessness of line with the embodiment of slow time. Based on skyscapes observed during his travels and throughout a lifetime living in various locations around the United States, memories of transitional skies overhead connect to specific experiences. In this way, infinite variations of the sky are interpreted and abstracted across works, taking form via cues in color, form, and line.

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