Comments on: Interview with John Dubrow

By: chelsea james

chelsea james — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 04:46:19 +0000

I love his work. Thanks for sharing!

By: JanPaul Wittebol

JanPaul Wittebol — Sat, 04 May 2013 11:44:07 +0000

Really love the work and also the way John is talking about it, very down to earth which is reflected in the texture of the paintings.

The bus ride story is great …

It’s indeed the search and struggle that makes art so fascinating. You don’t get those sparks when you stop too early!

I also find Kelly Hicks’s remark about the grumpy bunch very funny.

🙂

By: Richard Dean

Richard Dean — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:34:14 +0000

These detail photos are amazing. The painterliness and rugged surfaces totally do not come across in other reproductions. Great!

By: Larry

Larry — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:39:29 +0000

In reply to Kelly Hicks. http://hiroyukihamada.com/blog/2013/04/16/paintings-by-john-dubrow check out these fantastic close up photos of the John Dubrow show on the hiroyukihamada blog Thanks again to Xico for putting the time and effort to make such a great interview

By: Kelly Hicks

Kelly Hicks — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:05:58 +0000

Xico, thanks for posting the first photo of John. If all you’ve seen of any given artist is self-portraits, one would think we’re a very grumpy bunch.

By: John Dubrow

John Dubrow — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:42:18 +0000

Its all practicality. I used to bring a little sketchbook and pencil out with me, now it’s an ipad. The tactile thing I just don’t worry about- outside, whether in a sketchbook or iPad, its just about collecting notes. I check in on the notes pretty frequently in the studio, but am not tied to any of them. they are just memory aids. the paintings are pretty freely improvised as i go.
Don’t know how to answer the question about west coast vs east. I admire some paintings by Park and Porter, but I’m much more interested in painters from an earlier time, whether it be Venice 1510 or Paris 1910.

By: Francis Sills

Francis Sills — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:46:24 +0000

These paintings seem very playful, yet hard-won. I can pick up on the flickers of other artists he admires, and feel the pulse of art history coursing through his veins…I really enjoyed looking at his website and the body of work as a whole. Couple things that came to mind (questions?) for John, Xico, or Larry:
I’m curious about the Ipad sketches. I know a few artists that work things out this way, either as a kind of sketch book short hand, or as a more developed way to execute a finished image. How did this approach develop, as it seems that the paintings are very physical and tactile? I was just wondering because the media seems so new. The answer I’m assuming might just come down to practicality (i.e. it’s easier to sit down in a playground and do a color sketch with an IPad verses lugging a backpack full of gouche or watercolor etc to search for the same things) I was wondering if there’s a tactile difference that comes up in the process, and how John goes about transitioning from the screen image to the canvas image.
Also, I was wondering, John, if you could speak to studying in San Francisco, that is, did you find that there was a different approach to paint handling, subject matter, picture making that is ‘different’ than NYC? This has been on my mind as I just finished reading a bio on David Park (by Nancy Boas), and in it, what kept coming up was this East Coast-West Coast approach or mentality…again, not sure if this is one of those bullshit dichomities that are imposed by art historians, journalists, theorists, etc. but your work does have that ‘look’ or sensibility to the Bay Area figurative artists (but also Fairfeld Porter, too). Any thoughts on that?
Again, I really enjoyed your work and wish I could see these paintings in person….many thanks John, Larry and Xico!