John Whalley: In New Light

"In New Light" offers an intimate look at the work of American realist John Whalley, spanning the last three decades of the artist's career. Best known for his exquisitely detailed graphite drawings and still-life paintings, Whalley forms his subtle compositions from the humble objects and the people that he has encountered during his years in in Pennsylvania and in Maine, where he now makes his home. In this richly printed 167-page volume of 50 full color and 60 black and white reproductions, Whalley's graphite drawings and his oil, egg tempera and watercolor paintings are arranged chronologically, revealing the artist's maturing vision and persistent themes that flow throughout his work. The book contains the rewarding feature of offering the viewer many close ups of these intricate and marvelously textured artworks. The artist finds great pleasure in taking common, often discarded objects, and placing them in a setting which reveals their hidden beauty to the viewer.

"In New Light" was published in 2006 and accompanied the exhibition by the same name seen first at Greenhut Galleries of Portland, Maine, before traveling to the Coral Springs Museum of Art in Florida. In his Preface to the book, lent from a 2001 solo retrospective exhibition of Whalleys work at the Georgia Museum of Art entitled "John Whalley - American Realist", Director William Underwood Eiland states, "although Whalley's technique argues for a distance, a reserve toward his drawings and paintings, once drawn in, the viewer enters a world where the ordinary whispers its own unique beauty." In the book's Forward, Ralph Sessions of Spanierman Gallery of New York describes Whalley's paintings and drawings as "fresh, bold work, direct and honest renderings of familiar objects from the natural and man-made worlds...John investigates an everyday reality that most of us take for granted. His concentrated focus brings it to our attention, confronts us with its immediacy."