Jack Bishop: In The Pines

Newzones is pleased to present "In The Pines" a solo exhibition of new work by Canadian contemporary painter, Jack Bishop.

In these new paintings segments of the Trans-Canada are like a topiary, where the tree lines carve out an ornamental landscape the highway cuts through. The liminal space through the wilderness in a commute. For a fleeting moment the light changes, and the familiar surroundings emote a sense of nostalgia, romanticism or déjà vu.

Inspired by scrubby roadside foliage, these landscapes reimagine surrounding ditches and medians into nuanced spaces where color, light, and gesture take center stage. Moving away from realism and photographic references, my paintings embrace an intuitive approach from memory and lived experience. The tree lines become embellished forms, while thick impasto and fluorescent palettes activate the painted surface, creating landscapes that oscillate between figuration, abstraction, and sensation.

Jack Bishop was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and currently lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University in 2007. He is a three time recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts Creation Grant, including most recently in 2021, which supported his body of work Road Trip Playlist. He has exhibited nationally across Canada and his work can be found in private collections world-wide.