Glenn Green Galleries: John Hogan

Pattern Is The Key Luminous and layered, John Hogan's canvases offer simple yet complex view of the seemingly random order in nature . By Nancy Ellis There is virtually nothing pretentious about John Hogan , nothing in his presentation of himself or his surroundings to defer anyone's attention from the main issue : his art . In blue jeans and T-shirt, Hogan says with his feet propped on the edge of the table, a look perpetual on the amusement on his face framed by cells and pepper hair. Sipping from a mug of hot sea, Hogan is at ease philosophizing. But his philosophy is internalized, and it's importance lies not in impressing his listener, but rather in the private process of exploration it finds expression in his art. In, table and chairs, and a hot plate. Hogan's studio a building which organically serves as a complex of self storage units in an industrial section of Santa Fe is far from a luxurious and in fact offers little more comfort than a bed, table and chairs, and hot plate. Books line simple shelves, and there is a good source of music. But Hogan's walls are covered with works in progress paintings and prints in various stages of completion and it and it is immediately evident where his priorities lie. Open quotation " you get so involved, ordinary things slip your mind " , he says, laughing. Hogan is a master of next media , and he nurtures a life long passion for printing. The large format landscapes that have occupied his most profound interest during the past decade reflect a multiplicity in viewpoint, and spring from a long career in teaching as well as producing fine art. Some of his newest work combines painting and printing on canvas, with each piece in the series starting out with the same screen image. Yet the results are one startlingly different. Luminous and layered, Hogan's canvases offer simple yet, two of the seemingly random order in nature. Color and texture are his vehicles, and they're often given form an unexpected ways. " My interest vacillates between the tight view, and the wide open spaces with lots of sky. Pattern is kind of the keyword for me," Hogan offers. " Patterns in nature often look like chaos. But there is an underlying structure and if you just keep looking for it. Our real lot of physical science, and there are many tie ins. The more we look at nature, the less we know about it; but it gets curiouser and curiouser. Nature can get very abstract when you look closely. " At the end Wall of Hogan's studio is a huge triptych in progress of perhaps 12 ft. across . In it, the rolling hills and golden cottonwoods (it was begun last fall) appear to be inspired by some remote scene , perhaps high in the Sangre de Cristo always mountains . " This view and is from right down the street, Hogan says , surprisingly . " Sara (the lively black dog in and who is his constant companion) and I were walking down there one day, and I looked up and there was. " New ideas for paintings are never a problem for Hogan. " I look for something I've never seen before. I love the countryside, and I'm always and hiking. Of course a lot of color will always attract me." Hogan has long operated out of his " rolling studio, " an Winnebago, or from the back of his pickup with camper shell. " I take my painted with me, and the small paintings on location. I also worked on photographic prints and from slides. " John Hogan was born and raised near Monroe, Louisiana. Always interested in both art and music, he attend Northeast Louisiana State University , working his way through college doing commercial art. Graduating in 1961, Hogan was drawn westward, and eventually made his way to help El Paso. Where he continued studying at Texas University, and eventually set up his print shop, and gallery and " inadvertently, " a framing business. Hogan remained in El Paso " which has a sizable our community and absolutely no market" for the better part a last 20 years, married in raising a family and pushing his art can a " grand old the funky building in, surrounded by creditor France and students. " He began teaching in El Paso, first at the junior high school level " a learning experience I will not soon forget " and later in high school, and finally at the Texas University in, where he ended up his teaching full time. "Back then, " Hogan recalls, " teaching was a way to go to graduate school and still support a family, because you get the summers off. " Hogan came to New Mexico during the summers, and eventually completed his masters degree in painting in printmaking at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas. " Those were the golden years for a public school teachers, " Hogan recalls, " as well as the art program at Highlands " teachers at that time included such notables as Elmer Schooley and Harry Lippie , both of the whom were influential to Hogan . Hogan left teaching in the early 80's. " They asked me to apply for tenure, and they're really made me think it was time for change. I was beginning to sell big paintings, and I thought I could make it on the work." Hogan , by then divorced, settled in Santa Fe , where he grin has remained ever since . Today he enjoys a luxury of a clientele who is buying about everything he paints . " I liked to have about a half dozen things going at once, " he says ." there are sticking point and pains, it is a subconscious process. Sometimes it is a transition, and you can solve the problem in expediting. " Hogan is constantly experimenting with new media, and is especially interested in water based materials. " I don't do as much trading as paint a I used to, because of the toxic atmosphere. " The new acrylic based inks which are water soluble, have kept Hogan's interest in print making high. "I've been doing a lot of experimenting with model types. In printing, it's a technique I'm interested in, not the idea of editions. " Hogan 's enthusiasm for his work is contagious. He brings to his art and energy that is accelerating, and for the viewer he produces paintings that please and challenge the eye as well as the mind.