From time to time I will use this space to post noteworthy tidbits... the most current news and info can be found on my Social Media profiles.
News archives can be found here.
A new moodier direction for my "Woodland" series... new works to debut in this group show — 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 — at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia, WA; opens June 16.
“Veiled Narrative” — 30x30 in. — oil & mixed media
“Taller Than The Trees” — 60x30 in. — oil & mixed media 🔴sold
Museum of Northwest Art ( MoNA )
30th Annual Art Auction — June 6-18
La Conner, WA
* Preview auction catalog: www.monaartcatalog.com/live-2022
Pictured here: detail of a massive 60 x 60 inch abstract featured along with 16 more brand new works to be revealed at DragonFire Gallery during Cannon Beach, Oregon’s 22nd Annual Spring Unveiling Arts Festival — May 6-8, 2022
I will be in attendance periodically throughout the weekend to discuss my work and demonstrating in the gallery on Saturday, May 7.
"VOYAGE ON THE PERIPHERY" — 60 x 60 inches — oil & mixed media
I'm pleased to share that I'm now represented by 'A' Gallery in Palm Desert, CA!
“Power Play VII” — 30x30 | “An Island In The Hazy World Around Us” — 50x40
at ‘A’ Gallery Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
I'm pleased to share that I'm now represented by Earthenworks Gallery in Port Townsend, WA!
“Time Capsule” — 40 x 40 inches — oil & mixed media
I’m excited to announce the painting below — “Stratified Illusions” — will be in the LIVE AUCTION to benefit
Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA).
Join us under the big tent next to MoNA on Saturday, June 8th for our 27th annual Art Auction.
Enjoy silent and live auctions while celebrating with friends in the big tent next to the Museum. The fun begins with the Preview Party on Friday, June 7th, 6-8pm. All proceeds help support MoNA’s mission to connect people with the art, diverse cultures and environments of the Northwest.
Attend the Auction
Support MoNA by joining us for a night of fun with friends and auction excitement. Click below to get your tickets. GET TICKETS
“Stratified Illusions”
48 x 36 inches — oil & mixed media on panel
“Ephemeral Echo” — 84 x 60 in. | oil & mixed media — is installed in the new Broadway Tower in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon. The piece will greet tenants and guests of the ultra contemporary 19-story hotel and office combo that features Hotel Vance on the first eight floors and office space on the upper floors. Many thanks to Gallery 903 and GBD Architects for coordinating this collaboration.
This brand new piece is part of a group show — IMAGINE — at DragonFire Gallery during Cannon Beach, Oregon’s 31st Annual Stormy Weather Arts Festival — November 2-4, 2018
IMAGINE — a group exhibition featuring more than forty DragonFire Gallery artists creating a view of the world inspired by the lyrics of John Lennon's timeless classic.
"Imagination" | 40 x 40 in. | oil & mixed media
I've spent a lot of time listening to John Lennon’s “Imagine” and the lyrics with the intention of exploring its message in the context of today's world and within the themes I routinely explore in my work. My hope is that viewers of this piece can imagine a transition from chaos toward peace — a migration from darkness into lightness. Gritty, turbulent marks are heavy in the lower third, but give way to softer, quieter, lightness — rising!
Lennon gave the world a piece of art with a simple message which has endured and spanned generations — be dreamers, and imagine a better world.
While I can share my inspiration point for my abstraction, I often insist that I’m not a writer, I’m not a poet, I’m not a musician or philosopher — I’m a visual artist. I prefer to believe my “story” has been told on the canvas. Viewers may have a unique, internal and personal experience, enjoying a moment of their own creativity — to dream and imagine.
In June/July, 2018, Gallery 903 featured abstract artist Chuck Gumpert. His mixed media abstract works capture color and light.
Gumpert with "Next World" — 48 x 60 in. — oil & mixed media
903: Tell us about your process. How has it changed over the years?
CG: I came from a graphic design and photo-collage background, so I think my paintings have always been about striving to achieve the vibrant glow and lush translucency of a digital image on a screen. I work in layers, and often bounce between several canvases at once. I pride myself in the fact that I’m not confined by formula or habit, but have created a body of work that shares a common thread and communicates.
903: Much of your work has personal themes. How does real life shape your work?
CG: The bold, colorful, and energetic nature of my abstract work is indeed an expression of my inner self. It’s not always apparent what I subconsciously tapped into in the moments of creation of any one piece. Each new painting is a culmination of forty-plus years of experiences, emotions and observations — and a further exploration into my imagination, my memory and my heart.
My hope is, that in my abstraction, viewers will have a unique personal experience, enjoying a moment of their own creativity to see or feel whatever flows through the art to them. I thoroughly enjoy when my art has the power to awaken subjective memories or unconscious associations
903: All of your work is mixed media. What mediums do you use? Do you use them all in each painting?
CG: In addition to acrylic and oil paints, I’ve always been experimental in employing a variety of media and techniques to achieve that “digital” light. I don’t always use every medium in each painting, each piece progresses very organically. In recent years, I’ve enjoyed pushing even further — adding new textures and collage elements. I’ve recently studied screen printing, and hope to figure out how to include screened imagery in my abstraction.
903: You clearly love color. How do you choose your palettes?
CG: I begin most paintings with a “digital study” — which can be anything from a photo of something in nature, to a figure, to a detail shot of a particularly yummy section of one of my own paintings. I coerce that imagery digitally to create a pleasing abstract composition and palette as a starting point, and then re-interpret that on the canvas. The color mixing often happens very much on the fly, again striving to avoid the formulaic — sometimes departing dramatically from the digital study!
OPENING: First Thursday, June 7, 2018 | 6:00-9:00 pm
Show continues through July 31, 2018
“It’s human nature to look for subject matter within an abstract piece, but to love an abstract one must view it with the heart. I believe in the importance of looking beneath the surface to find the real truth and meaning. My joy is the experimental freedom of mixed media to create evocative compositions and layered surfaces which can elicit a variety of interpretations and emotions from each viewer.”
"Urban Relic IV (Crescendo)" — 60 x 48 inches — oil & mixed media, collage
“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Preview the collection!: www.chuckgumpert.com/903
Gallery 903
903 NW Davis Street,
Portland, Oregon 97209
gallery903.com | 503 248-0903
Howard/Mandville Gallery in Kirkland, WA
Opening Saturday, March 11, 2017 — 1-4 pm.
Show postcard.
"Butterfly Effect VII" | 40 x 60 in. | oil & mixed media | SOLD
A fresh batch of new paintings on their way to the Oregon coast in time for the 29th Annual Cannon Beach Stormy Weather Arts Festival — Nov. 4-6 !!
Howard/Mandville Gallery in Kirkland, WA
Opening Friday, August 12th, 2016 — 5-8 pm.
Postcard
Featured left: "Unfathomable" | 48 x 24 in. | oil & mixed media
"Temporal Persistence" | 40 x 40 in. | oil & mixed media
This is the first piece inspired by our summer vacation — sailing the waters of Desolation Sound, BC, Canada
I'm thrilled to present a mini-collection of four brand new works in a new three-person exhibition
at Brian Marki Fine Art in Palm Springs, CA
Following the images is a brief statement about this new collection, "Articulated Elements":
"Articulated Elements"
This group of paintings represents a culmination of the last several years of experimentation with media, technique, form, mark-making and palette.
They are inspired by vivid imagery of the patchwork architecture, rhythmic energy and kaleidoscope colors of any bustling public market. From Bangkok to Mumbai to Seattle, these spaces offer a global experience — keeping human connections flourishing and providing opportunities for unexpected sensory delights.
This brand new piece is part of a group show — Inspiration Point — at DragonFire Gallery during Cannon Beach, Oregon’s 28th Annual Stormy Weather Arts Festival — November 6-8, 2015
Inspiration Point invites gallery artists to share a glimpse into what inspires them in their art.
Life is ever changing and so are we all. What can move us today is not the same as 5 years ago... or even 6 months ago. [Art can be] impacted by world events, by music, or perhaps travel, significant personal experiences... etc...
"Blue" | 40 x 40 in. | oil & mixed media
I think of many of my abstract compositions as musical — influenced and inspired by “abstract” music: Björk, Radiohead, R.E.M., Muse, Depeche Mode; and the symphonic work of Philip Glass, Hans Zimmer and other modern composers. The beauty of these types of music, for me, is the lyrical and sonic experimentation — at times discordant, minimalist, energetic, harmonic and nonsensical — which convey all manner of emotions, images, and narratives. Some of my favorite songs have somewhat unintelligible lyrics, but can evoke feelings and imagery simply in the manner they are sung or the mood of the accompaniment.
Music has been an inspiration for my art for as long as I can remember, and like many of us, the music of our formative teen and 20-something years is often what is most firmly planted in our psyche. R.E.M. is the most influential artist in my life’s soundtrack.
R.E.M.’s Blue was the final track on their final album in 2011. It was the perfect curtain-closer to their 30+ year career — the album was a culmination of their many varied sounds and themes. Blue is characterized by a lush, melancholy guitar sound underlying what is really more of a spoken-word poem which contains lyrics of longing, mourning and introspection followed by more uplifting words of optimism and transcendence:
I am made by my times
I am a creation of now
Shaken with the cracks and crevices
I'm not giving up easy
I will not fold
I don't have much
But what I have is gold
From my first listen, this song has resonated with me powerfully. In this painting I feel a similar juxtaposition with gritty, textured layers of muddy and melancholy against luminescence, clarity and hope. In the painting, like the song, the title Blue is literal and figurative. A large swath of brilliant cobalt blue is focal amid many other shades of blue, but other neutral colors in the palette dominate the surface. And in the lyric:
Look, the sky, the sea, the ocean, the sun, the moon.
Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue blue, blue, blue, blue, blue.
Naked and blue.
While I can share my inspiration point for my abstraction, I often insist that I’m not a writer, I’m not a poet, I’m not a musician or philosopher — I’m a visual artist. I prefer to believe my “story” has been told on the canvas. My hope is that viewers will have a unique, internal and personal experience, enjoying a moment of their own creativity to see or feel whatever flows through the art to them.
This is my time and I am thrilled to be alive.
Living. Blessed. I understand.
Twentieth century:
Collapse into now
Yellow circus left the stakes a broken ropes world's useless mug
The ties that bind, ha ha
I can be bad poet
Street poet
Shit poet
Kind poet too
Subway
Almost 4AM
Halloween night
Had enough to drink to make my own party
All my fellow writers in half costume, half asleep
Half silly, gone to seed
I don't mark my time with dates, holidays, faded wisdom, locked karma holders
Convenient
I am made by my times
I am a creation of now
Shaken with the cracks and crevices
I'm not giving up easy
I will not fold
I don't have much
But what I have is gold
I saw your face...
I sing in platinum
I dress in brass
I eat in zinc
Let it pass
Compare a toast
I like that
I understand courage
I still roll with the shout of a character I was married to today
I try to see outside myself
I understand the eyes
Excuse all the highs
Sorry
I am sorry
Ha ha
I like you, love you, every coast of you.
I've seen your eddies and tides and hurricanes and cyclones.
Low ebb tide and high, full moon.
Up close and distant.
I read you.
Look, the sky, the sea, the ocean, the sun, the moon.
Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue blue, blue, blue, blue, blue.
Naked and blue.
Breathing with you. Touch. Change. Shift. Allow air. Window open. Drift. Drift away. Into now.
I want Whitman proud. Patti Lee proud. My brothers proud. My sisters proud. I want me. I want it all. I want sensational. Irresistible.
This is my time and I am thrilled to be alive.
Living. Blessed. I understand.
Twentieth century:
Collapse Into Now
Cinderella boy
You've lost your shoe
Cinderella boy
Your coach awaits
A sun makes shadows
All over your face
As you sit
Naked and blue
Into me
Discover
Discover
Discover
Discover
Discover
Discover
Discover
R.E.M. | "Blue" (alternate version directed by James Franco)
This is posted prominently in our studio. (and hopefully in the back of my mind!)
Two person show at Howard/Mandville Gallery with Christopher Mathie
July 18–August 16, opening reception Saturday, July 18, 5-7 pm.
"While an artist creates a variety of works over many years, one can often identify qualities that become consistent.
Mathie & Gumpert create surfaces that can best be described as organic. That is to say within each painting they create an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things. Whether in a pure abstract, or surfaces within a figure, plant or animal you can always identify structural layering that alludes to life.
Look for overlapping textures, transparencies that allow the viewer to see colors through each other, and evidence of the artist's hand. Quick gestural marks, drips, splashes and slashes all augment their biomorphic, luminous illusions."
This is one of my favorite new pieces! It will be on display along with eleven more brand new works to be revealed at DragonFire Gallery during Cannon Beach, Oregon’s 15th Annual Spring Unveiling Arts Festival — May 1 – 3, 2015
I will be in attendance periodically throughout the weekend to discuss my work and demonstrating in the gallery on Saturday, May 2.
"Grace Under Pressure" — 40 x 40 inches — oil & mixed media
Two person show at Gallery 903 in Portland, OR with Christopher Mathie
March 5 – 31, opening during "First Thursday Art Walk," 6-9 pm.
“Inspired by Abstract Expressionism and Modernism, noted West Coast artists Christopher Mathie & Chuck Gumpert have painted together for the past eleven years. Combining their vision they have developed an elegant and evocative style of abstraction that could best be described as organic. With a strong focus on energetic movement, intense emotion, and suggestive shapes, they are powerfully exploring the figure, landscape, and pure abstraction. And, while they work on their own canvases individually, they celebrate their styles as a collaborative journey.”
