w. tucker | standing / facing

JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING - TAYLOE PIGGOTT GALLERY is pleased to present standing / facing, an exhibition of mixed media work by artist W. Tucker, on view April 14th through May 28th, 2023. An artist reception will be held on Friday, April 14th, from 5 - 7pm; all are invited to attend. W. Tucker will be in attendance and will give an artist talk on his work at 6pm.

As of late, W. Tucker has found the question "How do we not kick and scream through life?" replaying in his head. In this body of multimedia drawings, paintings and sculptures, Tucker offers a solution: standing / facing. This aphorism is an abridged ode to his maxim "standing / accepting / giving time / letting it float." This step-by-step apothegm is Tucker's method of not only dealing with situations and thoughts, but also a freeing way of being in the world. When discussing the title of this exhibition, Tucker wrote, "I feel it's the only thing we can really do in life- stand and face what's in front of us. In a simple (and maybe cliché) way, they are two words that speak about being in the moment. It's the only moment we can truly do anything in."

In this body of work, the themes of hardship and of taking a pause are undeniably present, whether literally or figuratively. Some figures don boxing gloves, and a two-torso-ed man asks the question, "Which self?" while elephants, birds and people sit peacefully, as if in the act of "standing / accepting / giving time / letting it float." For Tucker, the process of creating this work was also a way to pause. "Sitting down to do the work, it's really a meditation for me, and it's a pause to look at what's happening in my life, look at what's happening in the world around me, and all of that kind of gets filtered into the work." As an artist, Tucker has always been an opportunist, scribbling his own unique timestamp with his non-dominant left hand on a wide array of found objects from the past. A scrappy cast of characters tumbles to life from his non-dominant hand, scrawled across vintage book covers, children's blocks, and old records from his favorite thrift shops, abandoned cabinet doors, and homemade cement objects. His work is contemplative, his process completely unplanned. Without fixed intention or control, his markings take on a deeper meaning- each wavering line warrants our attention. Here, a stick-figure wears a hat; there, a joyful elephant.

Tucker's stark, simplified drawings interact with their found-object environments and elevate the space with earnest potency. The artist welcomes serendipitous 'gifts' in the patina of the found materials he makes his own. From vintage book covers to 6-foot-high plywood panels, Tucker's found 'canvases,' imbued with inherent character and an indiscernible history, are integral to his process and always in dialogue with Tucker's drawings and paintings. Upon these surfaces, Tucker layers assorted media including charcoal, watercolor, graphite, resin stick, ink, and oil, creating a rich palimpsest of imagery. Elemental, perhaps, but decidedly not elementary, people, animals, and ships emerge from irregular lines drawn in constant, repetitive forms. Tucker's exclusive use of his non-dominant hand lends his work an element of visceral, child-like honesty, his characters take on an undeniable gravitas. Though some have an air of melancholy, others embody a certain peacefulness or joy. Tucker hopes that viewers "can connect to some of the depth in the work, and can also find the humor in it." Between the range of auras of his subjects and his instinctual mark-making, above all, Tucker's work is distinguished by its honesty.