Known for his meticulously drawn works describing a fantastical view of nature, where flora and fauna exist in a dream-like landscape, George Whitman has published prints with Center Street Studio since 1998. Beginning with his ten year project ‘Untitled,’ a portfolio of ten etchings depicting a miscellany of animals, from a boar, to a rooster, to a crocodile, Whitman continues on with large scale plates filled with fantastic landscapes. This etching, ‘Tucker,’ is a loving portrait of his friends’ 250 lb pet pig that lives with them in their home. The plate measures 22 x 28 inches and was printed in an edition of 30 on a sheet of Hahnemühle Copperplate paper measuring 31.5 x 36 inches.
“Objects exist in a physical as well as a psychological space, and our desire and dreams are full of personal objects, either real or created. We glean experiences of nature from both the past and present, and they accumulate over the years. Today, technology often clouds these experiences and prevents our involvement on an intimate level with nature. ‘I don’t imitate nature,’ as Picasso put it, ‘I work like her.’ In my prints and drawings, I aspire for that same direct involvement.”
“Just as there is a relationship between wind, water, earth, plants, animals, and other manifestations of the physical universe, there is a meaningful and abiding relationship between humanity and nature. Paul Cézanne stated, ‘Art is a harmony that runs parallel with nature.’ This guiding principle for me, dreams of an imaginary natural world and a concrete reality, are fused together in my art.”
George Whitman
Richmond, VA
2017
“Objects exist in a physical as well as a psychological space, and our desire and dreams are full of personal objects, either real or created. We glean experiences of nature from both the past and present, and they accumulate over the years. Today, technology often clouds these experiences and prevents our involvement on an intimate level with nature. ‘I don’t imitate nature,’ as Picasso put it, ‘I work like her.’ In my prints and drawings, I aspire for that same direct involvement.”
“Just as there is a relationship between wind, water, earth, plants, animals, and other manifestations of the physical universe, there is a meaningful and abiding relationship between humanity and nature. Paul Cézanne stated, ‘Art is a harmony that runs parallel with nature.’ This guiding principle for me, dreams of an imaginary natural world and a concrete reality, are fused together in my art.”
George Whitman
Richmond, VA
2017
