DECOMPOSITIONS My current paintings focus on the decomposition of the visceral, the natural preservation that takes place, and of how the body then becomes part of the landscape. The raw flesh goes beyond the representational concerns of a still life and becomes a metaphor as visceral organic iceberg formations dominating the unspoiled natural world and reminding us of our own mortality. The beauty of the grotesque subject matter is emphasized, as well as the physicality and seductive nature of the paint itself. Emotional resonance is achieved through the physicality of paint application, muted color, and the vast expanse of the landscape. These paintings appear as a frozen moment in time in which they ground the viewer in the here and now. The figurative forms appear as if they have been in this desolate landscape over a long period of time where it suggests desperation, a loss of hope, and a disconnection between the body and environment, These paintings explore feelings of isolation, physicality and seduction, the juxtaposition of the visceral with the desolate, and celebrate the duality of repulsion and attraction to evoke an emotional response in the viewer. - J. M. Culver                                                                                                             View Gallery