The Bay Area Figurative painters of the 1950s sought to renew the Abstract Expressionist process by connecting it to figurative subject matter. Like the figurative painters, Carlin also delights in richly saturated color, simplified forms, and gestural painting that makes atmosphere and light almost palpable. The surfaces of Carlin’s paintings present feathery layers of color, thickets of brush strokes evoking the drama of the color and the transfer of emotion from narrative content to paint.
Although reminiscent of Bay Area Figurative painting, Carlin’s work emphasizes interconnectedness rather than isolation. He paints specific individuals rather than depersonalized figures in architectural or landscape space. The freeze-frame is an apt metaphor for the containment of individuals stopped in the flow of time.
Alongside this autobiographical series, Carlin also paints the California landscape. His interest in plein air painting began at the Summer School of The Art Institute of Chicago at Saugatuck, Michigan. Influenced by the work he saw at the Art Institute, Carlin was attracted to the color intensity, light, and expressiveness of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.
-Excerpts from “The Painted Memories of Jerome Carlin” by Nancy M. Boas
