John Zabawa: Gateways Apr 15 – Jun 19, 2021
Gateways is Los Angeles-based artist John Zabawa’s first solo show in the UK, featuring 24 oil paintings on canvas and wood. Their warm colours and abstract forms embody two branches of Zabawa’s art practice: a conceptual series of diptychs, and more figurative works, such as still life compositions of geometric fruit bowls and plants.
Zabawa conceived the Gateway diptychs, which juxtapose canvasses painted in bold single colours and rich brush strokes, to reveal a glimpse of the process behind his artmaking. “The way I think about painting is like sculpture: carving away at the excess material until a final form is revealed,” he says. “When I develop a visual idea, I always begin by thinking about two colours. In my experience, the eye recognises colour before it understands form – humans have an immediate, instinctive reaction to colour, and then milliseconds later, they understand what the object is. With these paintings, I aimed to distil scenes or figures into their bare essence, represented by two colours.”
Colour theory partly informs how Zabawa chooses these colours, as do his immediate surroundings. “It could be a red chequered napkin on a white-clothed table, or the green of eucalyptus leaves against the blue sky that catches my eye,” he says. “Recently, I have started creating softer, muted tones, that convey depth and subtlety.”
Representing a scene in its bare essence is a recurring approach throughout the show, apparent in Two Lovers Sleeping – an intimate moment expressed as an elegant geometric composition of cool yellow and green forms and lines. Elsewhere, Zabawa draws on other visual elements of his everyday life, such as branches of eucalyptus leaves held in a vase, or the assortment of objects found on his desk, where a painting within a painting is suggested in the background. “I aim to paint from my own life,” he says. “I believe that as an artist, your own story is truly all that matters.”
The Japanese aesthetic principle of ma – the artistic interpretation of negative space – also informs Zabawa’s work. “I find certain principles help me make sense of my practice, and my understanding of ma is one of them,” he says. “I love thinking of negative space as a tool when composing. I experience blank canvas fear all the time; approaching a new painting is always an exciting, scary feeling, and thinking about negative space in this way is very freeing.”
Zabawa hopes viewers find a visual excitement in his work that may move them to enjoy other art: “I hope my work can help bring people closer to art, and encourage them to make it a part of their lives. I think doing so allows you to see the world in a more beautiful way.”
Featured works
LA GalleryJohn ZabawaHead of Diana, 2023
Spanning minimalist presentations and classical still lives, painter John Zabawa is not married to any school or style – instead, he seeks the best way to convey his message, to express something of himself and his process.
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