139SHOW PREVIEWviews of the world through a larger lens.
“We try to come up with titles that are a frame-
work; where we think the actual creative process and
rendering might go,” says Jon, “but in this case we
wanted a word that was something we could interpret,
especially because it’s a joint project, and be creative in
those bounds laid out in the beginning of the process.”
Jon says the direction he took was using the idea
of panorama as a still life rather than the typical
landscape, and digging into the analogies of what the
landscape is and how it has changed. “The body of
work began to have an environmental meaning. A lot
of the more pressing issues are centered on environ-
mental preservation—the idea of what’s left when these
landscapes are destroyed, whether it’s for industrial or
living space purposes,” he says. “When all you have is
the memory or rendering of those things, where does
that leave us in terms of experience?”
With that, many of Jon’s pieces have book covers
that feature mountains and trees in them harkening
to the landscape itself. The Human Voice includes an
article from a book about laying down telegraphic cable
beneath the ocean floor while seashells sit on a wooden
block in front of it. Another piece, Intrusion, shows a
plastic gear in the midst of the natural work—an item
that will remain far longer than the flowers, rocks and
butterflies that surround it in the composition.
Greg says the idea of panorama also is interesting
because it plays off the father-and-son dynamic. “A lot
of what has evolved in my mind is a combined vision
that makes it more panoramic through my son’s devel-
opment,” he explains. “As time has gone by we have
played off each other’s imagery and philosophy of what
art is, and also the world of science that we appreciate
so much and history.”
His painting Parallels puts a seashell on top of a
slab of marble—joining two natural wonders, one cut
to its shape, the other natural. “One of the reasons
I use the motif of shells is it has one of the more beau-
tiful figures in nature—that being the spiral,” Greg
shares. “I think that nature has a way of revealing this
beautiful harmony in a way that it takes scrutiny to it.
‘Parallels’ refers to the striations in the marble. A lot
of things in nature do parallel each other in the way
they’re constructed. There’s a beautiful repetition of
harmony.”Somerville Manning Gallery Breck’s Mill, 2nd Floor •
101 Stone Block Row • Greenville, DE 19807 • (302) 652-0271 •
http://www.somervillemanning.com1
Greg Mort, Marbled
Apples, oil on panel,
28 x 50"
2
Greg Mort, Parallels,
watercolor, 32 x 32"
3
Jon Mort, The Human
Voice, colored pencil on
Bristol board, 16 x 10"
4
Jon Mort, Intrusion,
colored pencil on Bristol
board, 14 x 10"3 4