From the strength and solidity of the mighty oak to the frothy blossom of a flowering cherry in full bloom, Jack Frame’s exquisite tree paintings represent a search for proportion, balance and tonal harmony within nature.
By taking his subjects out of context and placing them in the centre of a simple, elemental space, he invites us to explore the iconography of the tree in all its beauty, and to find solace in the timeless patterns of the natural world.
Frame favours painting en plein air (out on location) over working entirely in a studio, preferring each composition to be a first-hand record of time spent contemplating his subject. This gives his work an authenticity and, for the artist himself, a strong sense of time and place which has become hugely important to him. It is through this dialogue with place that he can capture his vision and transform it into an image; painting, he says, offers him a chance “to be present, to be a part of the world.”
Stylistically Frame is influenced by countless artists and aesthetics, from Bosch to Constable, from medieval painting to Japanese screen printing, and these combine with his insatiable interest in the arts, philosophy, poetry and theology to bring a depth of intention and an almost romantic refinement to his work. Working mainly in a combination of oils and acrylics over a background of metal leaf, he builds each piece into a vivid textural display, with depth and spontaneity. He regularly engages with old artisan processes such as gilding, enameling and marbling - these fascinating combinations give an array of finishes and a striking intensity of colour reminiscent of Chinese and Japanese silk painting and drawing.
Frame was born in Kent in 1983, to Scottish parents. He graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2007 with a sell-out degree show, and this was followed by a series of awards including the GSA Painting Prize, the Standard Life Award and the Jolomo Award for Landscape Painting in 2009. Since then he has achieved international recognition and built a wide collector base which includes Hollywood star Kate Hudson, writer and broadcaster Muriel Gray, and Muse’s Matt Bellamy. He now divides his time between rural Norfolk and Glasgow.
“The interaction between colour, surface, shape and form…how these dynamic elements vibrate against one another to make visual rhythm and generate a real sense of energy is something I find endlessly fascinating.”
