John Defeo

"Swimming Pool in the Woods (Roosevelt N.F." by John Defeo

Swimming Pool in the Woods (Roosevelt N.F.)

β€œI hope to make paintings that illustrate the magical world we live in. This series of paintings concerns the relationship between wild and manmade environments. The paintings act as a portal to an enchanted setting where the viewer may wonder about the origin and significance of the pool.

β€œThe forest is a place of natural beauty, of creation and destruction, and an intricate balance of complex relationships. The swimming pool is symbolic of human intervention placed within this balanced arrangement. I am asserting that while humanity may assume ownership over land – that it will bend to our whim, give endlessly – the land does not enter into this agreement; it tolerates us as it outlasts us.” Student Arts Program official selection 2017. Located on the second floor, near room 243. See more of John’s work at . By clicking the preceding link, you are leaving colorado.edu. We are not responsible for the content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site.

the Artist

β€œMy paintings are based on memories of places and experiences. Like memories, my paintings are shaped not by the forces of nature but by details that I have visually catalogued and indexed in my mind: the colors and forms that have made lasting impressions on me, the ones that visually connect me to a place or feeling. In painting from memory I retain a sense of naturalism but find freedom to stray from the boundaries of reality, to abstract for the sake of the composition, and to more clearly communicate a concept. This freedom, in turn, allows for spontaneity and exuberance in my application of paint. In my work I hope to remind the viewer that these spaces that are magical. These are the spaces that make life worth living and my paintings are to serve as a reminder that they are never too far away.”