Elizabeth Leach Gallery is pleased to present Mutable Paintings, an exhibition of new work by Jaq Chartier, an extension of the artist’s Testing series. Known for her rigorous, experimental approach to materials and process, Chartier’s latest body of work builds on her decades-long investigation into the behavior of colors as they interact with light across time.
Confronted with the discontinuation of a key material used in her previous works led the artist to reimagine her approach, pushing her to experiment with new processes and revisit previous self-imposed rules. The necessity of using novel materials created new possibilities for exploration, presenting the artist with the opportunity for further evolution of her practice.
Mutable Paintings reflects this renewed sense of experimentation in which chance, variation, and the artist’s gestures all play an equal role in the creation of the work. Like a director setting the stage for actors, the materials in Chartier’s studio, including paint, dye, inks and stains, become characters of their own, leading to surprising and unanticipated interactions and “interesting mistakes.”
The works in Mutable Paintings feature cube-like forms and shifting marks that seem to interact as though they are tiny worlds in motion. Each mark and movement is informed not only by the artist’s gesture, but also by the materials' own unpredictable responses. This new work invites viewers to consider impermanence, adaptation, and transformation, both within the artwork and beyond.
