DJHall

D. J. Hall

Initially my work emphasized social commentary on an image-conscious culture in which women are targeted to engage in preoccupations with physical appearance, fleeting youth, and fears of aging. Throughout the years the women portrayed in my work have reflected my similar fears and coming to terms with them.

Although women have been the apparent subject matter in my paintings, light has been and remains the primary subject in my work. Its ability to evoke a sense of time, place and memory fascinates me. My attraction to poolside settings stems from childhood memories of summer afternoons where I briefly glimpsed a sense of family, security, and joy. Stylistically, my obsession with precision and minute detail reveals a life-long notion that if I could make something look "really real" it would "come true."

Ironically, my images cannot exist in physical reality, as they are highly contrived composites of various real and imagined sources. I approach each new painting as though I am producing a film: selecting models, wardrobe changes, locations, props, time sequences, etc. For the photo sessions I devise scenarios for my models so they will project what I envision. With the resulting photos I add, delete, and re-configure information to achieve a strong visual structure which conveys my current interests.

In my 25-year long career my work has carefully and subtly evolved. The models appear less confrontational and are beginning to express a sense of calm. Other objects and elements are entering the picture and a more open atmosphere is emerging. These latter concerns have been heightened by my witnessing terminal illness and death of several loved ones over the past decade. Also, during this period my own struggle with a physically-impairing disease has completely changed how (and when) I can paint and thus, my attitude towards painting. I feel an urgency to express the precious nature of moments and time.

Portraying the passage of time, whether in momentary or monumental increments, is an ongoing interest for me. My current work is composed of multiple, sequential images that form a visual narrative reading like autobiography. The paintings investigate how time and memory (stimulated by seeing a particular cast of light/shadow, or feeling a summer breeze carrying a blossom's scent) can immediately and viscerally project us back to someone and somewhere we once knew.

I like to think that my pieces are a visual diary of my journey towards maturity and self-acceptance. More than ever, my appreciation for life's most precious moments has intensified my urgency to get my visions "out" onto canvas. . . . . each and every day, from now until far into the future.