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Robert Lange Studios2 Queen Street | Charleston, SC 29401(843) 805-8052 | www.robertlangestudios.com

UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / CHARLESTON, SCApril 3-24, 2015

N A T H A N D U R F E E

Blending tides

For artists who pour their time, hearts and souls into their work, handing it off to another artist to

add their touch can be a daunting endeavor. When you admire the artists whose work you’re adding to, there’s a new layer of pressure to create a product all parties are happy with. Nathan Durfee was up for the challenge, and worked with 11 artists to create the more than 25 works in his Blending Tides collaborations show at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, South Carolina.

“It takes a lot of empathy to not only respect your art for what it is, but also know everyone else who is handing you their art loves it just as much, or not more,” Durfee, 31, says. “People do become protective and

apprehensive, but like any relationship, as long as you keep communication open, that’s the biggest thing.”

Durfee has worked on collaborations in the past, crafting more than 100 with Robert Lange Studios co-owner Megan Aline, as well as having had a 20-piece show with her husband and co-owner Robert Lange in 2009. For this exhibition, he approached artists he felt a mutual trust with, and he began working on the show this past October. Approaches varied from artists beginning a piece and handing it off to Durfee to finish, to a back-and-forth discussion involving sketches throughout the collaboration process.

In one of his pieces with Aline, First Time

1 Hirona Matsuda and Nathan Durfee, Curiosity Got the Best of Hector, mixed media on panel, 18 x 12"

2 Gregg Lambton-Carr and Nathan Durfee, The Look on Elizabeth, oil on giclee, 24 x 16"

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Homebuyers, Aline’s dark and ominous atmosphere was brightened by the addition of two little cardinals searching for a love nest. The painting The Look on Elizabeth features a digital photo of a model friend of Gregg Lambton-Carr’s printed on canvas. Durfee added patchwork details and black eyes to her face, creating a sensitive and haunting image, and reaching emotions he says he rarely reaches in his own work. Lambton-Carr was thrilled with the results.

“When I took the photo, I wanted to create a striking portrait that would draw people in, especially through the eye contact,” Lambton-Carr says. “I wanted it to be earthly and vibrant. Nathan took that look and built upon it. He created a Durfee.”

In some works, such as A Trial Launch with Hirona Matsuda, Durfee created the background for her to add to on top, and in their Curiosity Got the Best of Hector, his painting tops her shadow box featuring found objects. While works such as these blend seamlessly together, other pieces, such as Hanging onto His Thoughts with Patch Whiskey, contain more distinctive styles.

Oliver Goes for a Test Flight, Durfee’s collaboration with Kevin Taylor, features a Durfee patchwork-covered creature set against Taylor’s serene, lonely landscape that includes a realistic “almost-bat” hovering above. Taylor says while he usually paints from reference photos, working with Durfee gave him the freedom to “paint from his head.”

“Collaborations are fun because you get to see your work take a direction you would have never thought of, and that’s exactly what Nathan did,” Taylor says. “I think subconsciously, I was making a dark, moody painting, because I knew Nathan would balance it out with a more narrative lightheartedness. I think it came out just right.”

Lange, who will again have pieces with Durfee in the show, says the exhibition is a reflection of the supportive Charleston arts community, since most of the artists featured are from the area.

“It takes a lot for an artist to let go of something they’ve spent a lot of time on and let another artist put their hand on it,” Lange says. “I think the fact all these artists have given their sense of confidence to Nathan is a testament to who he is. He is a painter’s painter.”

3 Megan Aline and Nathan Durfee, First Time Homebuyers, oil and acrylic on panel, 4 x 5"

4 Kevin Taylor and Nathan Durfee, Oliver Goes for a Test Flight, oil on panel, 20 x 17"

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