Explorations in Acrylic Paint Skins and Beyond
The Work of Trenton Lutes
On exhibit: 6/5 – 8/14
Opening Reception: June 5 from 6:30 – 8:00 pm (During Art Crawl)
Westfield artist Trenton Lutes has taken his work to a new level. With a technique that transfers his photography onto an acrylic paint skin that display an image of great depth and detail. The works invite the viewer in, making them feel almost as if they could step through a think veil, through the skin of it, and walk into the scene which is displayed before them.
*** Trenton is offering an Introduction to Bonsai on Saturday, June 26 from 2pm to 4pm. More information here: Bonsai Workshop
Trenton Lutes graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY cum laude with honors and departmental distinction with multiple concentrations in painting, sculpture and glassblowing. He also took several photography courses during this time, forging a lifelong love for the medium.
Trenton is currently a member in good standing of the North Shore Arts Alliance, where he served both on the Board of Directors as well as Chair of the Exhibition Committee. He has also been a participating artist in their signature event, the Chautauqua Lake Erie Art Trail, for many years.
In 2017, Trenton was the recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, Artist in Community Grant, which was administered by the Tri-County Arts Council. His project, entitled My Town: An Exploration in Acrylic Paint Skins with Photographic Transfers of Westfield, NY, won him the 2018 Tri-County Arts Council Re-Grant Program of the Year award.
Trenton’s works have been displayed in many group and solo shows up and down the east coast. He also has many works in private collections around the United States and a few works in permanent public collections within New York State.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Everything old is new again. People recycle, upcycle, rewrite, remake, rework. It’s what we do. Trends from the 80’s and 90’s are popular again. If this idea of upcycling and reworking can intrigue the masses then why couldn’t someone, an artist let’s say, go back in time and reclaim a forgotten technique that he once used decades ago? This was the idea behind the resurrection of my acrylic paint skins. Back in the day, these skins were a work in progress. A work that, for whatever reason, I was unable to bring to their full potential. So, as with many things people do, I left them behind and moved on. Now, two decades later, I have reworked my original method of creating these skins to bring them to completion in a way I was unable to accomplish so long ago. Reborn, the acrylic paint skin isn’t just a canvas-less abstract painting, but instead a medium upon which I can display the high-quality images that I capture as I explore the beauty of Mother Nature. An Acrylic Paint Skin with Photographic Transfer. Materials changed, durability greatly improved, and scale increased from small square paintings into monolithic skins that display an image of great depth and detail. The works invite the viewer in, making them feel almost as if they could step through a thin veil, through the skin of it, and walk into the scene which is displayed before them.
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