J.C. Hall Acrylic Painting "Owed to Odysses Elytis"
Item Details
J.C. (Jim) Hall (American, Ohio, 1932 – 2017)
Owed to Odysses Elytis [sic], 21st century
Acrylic painting on canvas
Signed to the lower right
Title and inscription to verso
Title references the Greek poet Odysseus Elytis (1911 – 1996)
An abstract narrative acrylic painting on canvas titled Owed to Odysses Elytis [sic] by Cincinnati artist J. C. Hall (Ohio; 1932- 2017). This piece features the text of a poem overlapping a brightly-hued, abstract depiction of tropical foliage. The title references the Modernist Greek poet Odysseus Elytis (1911 – 1996). The artist’s signature is present to the lower right corner of the painting, and the work is inscribed to the verso with the title and an exhibition notation.
The featured poem fully reads:
I want to be a Poet
That’s all I want to be
I want a tablet folded
Upon a couch extended
And masses come to ask me
What can this simply mean
It means I am a poet
And very understood
Provenance
From the estate of the artist.
J.C. (Jim) Hall was a Kentucky-born artist and lived most of his adult life in Sharonville, Ohio, where he raised his family. He was an ordained minister in his teens and later joined the Navy, however an injury during training ended his enlistment. The money from his honorable discharge and his job at Proctor & Gamble allowed Hall to buy painting supplies and launch his prolific art career. The artist worked mostly with acrylic and watercolors, and at times, embellished his compositions with additional materials, such as sand or beads, for textural effects. His subject matters range from vibrant tropical scenes, geometric cityscapes, and humorous art history parodies. However, it is Hall’s development of Lineillism that is credited as his most significant creative accomplishment and contribution to the contemporary art world.
Lineillism is a painting technique and style that Hall conceived after contracting shingles in 2000. The infection introduced a dramatic change to the artist’s vision, causing him to see the world in lines. What some may view as a handicap resulted in the artist’s stylistic revolution. His Lineillist paintings are rendered with thousands of vertical lines that emphasize the play of light and create an element of transience in his compositions. Hall’s innovation is not only the subject of the award-winning documentary Lines of Sight (2016), but was featured in a traveling exhibition Lineillism Revealed, which debuted at the Behringer-Crawford Museum in 2017.
To view the award-winning documentary Lines of Sight (2016) unveiling J.C. Hall’s painting technique Lineillism, please see the link attached below.
- Please note, this is an item that may be especially difficult to move and/or transport. The winner is responsible for bringing appropriate assistance, vehicle, proper materials, and any necessary tools to pickup. International shipping may be restricted.
Condition
- light edge wear to canvas.
Dimensions
Item #
ITMG462793
Additional Information
