Jay Bigos, American (1960 – 2008)

Jay Bigos studied at The Art Institute of Southern California
in Santa Ana, CA, The International School of Art in Umbria, Italy,
and The Academy of Art College in San Francisco, CA.

Selected Exhibitions
Drewhaven Town & Country, Saint Andrews By-The-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada
Elements Gallery, Los Gatos, CA
Exposure Gallery, Palm Springs, CA
Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA
World Art Gallery, Ladera Ranch, CA

Artist Statement
I fell in love with the canals of Venice, during my studies at the International School of Art in Italy. The romance and mystery of these dark passages along with the intermittent light that makes its way down the deep ravines of ancient buildings, creates an ambient soulful glow. My interest in the Venice Canals also comes from an early childhood love of boats and light on the water growing up on the Sakonnet River in Tiverton, Rhode Island.

The old buildings that line the canals of Venice reflect in the water, creating a repetition of images. These become my loose grid of forms repeated on the flat surface of the canvas. The repetition creates a shimmering affect not only in the water reflection, but from the juxtaposition of colors in relation to each other. The ancient repairing and repainting of the buildings themselves lends texture which is then repeated and increased in the reflection.

From an artists perspective the Canals are an endless exploration of the combinations of colors and light, textures and forms which has been the hallmark of the European school from Matisse to Mondrian, the Expressionists to the Fauvist and the Cubists. In painting the Venice Canal Series, I am reminded that, while I continue to explore the same subject in each work, I have never painted the same painting twice. Each moment is unique and each painting represents an artistic moment, and my inner life is revealed again and again. The act of creation brings me joy and leaves behind a living record that is these paintings. Enjoy!