Happy Wednesday to my friends and readers! As I mentioned last week, this spring I am extremely grateful to be representing two wonderful artists and growing my curation business. I have been working with contemporary artist, Philip Lawson, for over a year now and I am so excited to be working with him in this time of growth and new projects! Today I’d like to introduce Philip to you and tell you about one of my favorite projects to date: The Middle Way Triptych.

Philip Lawson (b.1967) is a Conceptual Artist based in San Francisco, CA. Originally from Bristol, TN, Lawson has considered himself a conceptual artist from a young age. Lawson’s eclectic approach to making art has included scoring films, producing music videos and working in a variety of other media, from painting and sculpture to photography and ceramics. Lawson’s works are in private collections across the United States and internationally.

Philp has a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ringling School of Art and Design. In addition to working for many years as an Art Therapist, Philip has created and exhibited his work. His public and private affairs show his great love and compassion for those around him.

In 2013, for the 500th anniversary of the finding of Panama, Philip Lawson partnered with Panama based artist Dilsa Rivera. They traveled through the jungle of the Darién province to document the art, culture and food of the four different indigenous cultures that live there. The Ministerio de Cultura of Panama printed 30 photographs and commissioned 4 short documentary videos, one for each indigenous group. The videos, totaling one hour, were exhibited for education and television.

We are partnering on so many things! As I help him promote his panoramic photo triptychs, 3D paintings, and Weapons of Light Peace Prize Project and accompanying gala, my to do list is endless! To find out more about these projects check out his website here or subscribe to my blog below.

To create his aluminum prints, Philip first starts with creating hand cut collages. A process he enjoys due to its meditative nature. Then, he takes those collages, blows them up and prints them on aluminum. Finally, he paints, collages and adds paper to the collages to create a final image.

This final triptych created below is called The Middle Way! Rooted in esoteric conception, this triptych is not only visually appealing but invites deep levels of introspection.

The Middle Way Triptych was created by photographing and manipulating hand-cut collages and mounting the photographs on aluminum panels. The multi-step creation process begins with Lawson cutting out each piece by hand to create traditional collages on paper. After blowing up the collages and mounting them on aluminum, Lawson further alters the images by painting and decoupaging the panels. The meditative nature of cutting each element out by hand is appealing to Lawson. Lawson creates unpredictably, without preplanning, allowing the art itself to dictate what symbols and narratives appear. In this case, the panels were created separately. However, when placed together in a triptych, a theme was revealed.

Flanked by inadvertent representations of life and death is the unknown, the middle way. A guiding hand is present in the middle way and the afterlife panels. However, there is no easy way to escape. Ironically, in Buddhism, “The Middle Way” refers to the right way through life and is meant to deter people from the two extremes in life: indulgence or denial. However, in Lawson’s triptych there is no safe or right way through the composition, especially through the middle way. In fact, this type of personal conflict is a recurring theme throughout Lawson’s work as he seeks to find answers to life’s most pressing questions.

The panels feature symbols and references to the destruction of war, life, death and the cosmos. Through a dreamlike composition, Lawson blends subconscious memories and experiences. Lawson considers himself a connoisseur of non-rational experiences, noting that his art cannot be created through intention. True meaning in art and life is elusive and can’t be planned.

We hope to exhibit this triptych and the other aluminum prints in the near future! Look out for more blogs about Philip and me and our projects soon! Subscribe below because you won’t want to miss what is next.