Here & Now 

Curator: Soaked with mood, isn't it? My first thought is, 'fleeting.' Like a memory half-formed in the rain. Editor: This is Jeff Jamison’s "Here & Now," painted with oils, likely en plein air given its style and subject, seemingly a bustling cityscape softened by atmospheric perspective. The focus is two figures under a striking red-and-white umbrella, mid-stride. Curator: Atmospheric is the word! It's all brushstrokes, a shimmering, almost dreamlike world. I find myself wanting to step into the scene, feel that mist on my face. Though, the red in that umbrella just sings against all that muted background. It centers your attention even though you also feel as if these anonymous figures could disappear any minute. Editor: Yes, there's a strong element of transience. I see it also as capturing a very particular moment in urban life. The composition suggests a society constantly in motion; everyone’s heading somewhere. The figures almost blend into the urban fabric, yet that umbrella makes a clear statement about individuals navigating a communal space. It hints at themes of intimacy and anonymity. Curator: Right, it is that paradox isn't it? How close we all are and also completely separate and unaware. And you notice how the crosswalk itself, that zebra pattern of grays and whites, pulls us right into the frame and into their journey. The figures become more felt than fully seen—ghosts of an encounter we all feel at times? Editor: That blending into the "zebra" marks Jamison's impressionistic rendering, and a lack of crisp details. The umbrella, beyond the central figures, offers its shelter, as well as being a motif that repeats throughout, connecting individual stories to this larger civic drama playing out. He really harnesses the dynamism of ordinary life. It feels, also, distinctly of our current times with everyone together but all also sheltering individually under our own devices...I might be reading too much into this... Curator: I wouldn’t say that. For me, "Here & Now" reminds us that beauty resides in the most common occurrences, if you only notice with an empathetic view. Jamison makes us witnesses to what otherwise goes unseen. Editor: Well said. "Here & Now," regardless of specific intent, shows us, at minimum, our human presence embedded within larger structural currents.