The Stewart Gallery at the Grinnell Art Center buzzed with energy as guests filled the room for the opening of “A Breath of Line, A Body of Color,” a debut show by Iowa-born artist John Weaver.
Weaver’s work doesn’t just hang on the walls. It moves, breathes and pulses. His lines twist like vines, flow like water and settle like wind. He uses bright colors that give each composition a sense of internal life, allowing you to feel as if you’re watching something grow.
Many visitors found themselves not just observing, but engaging with his work. While some were debating about the names of pieces and what they were, others were imagining and interpreting what each piece meant.
“Art is an excuse to get people together,” Weaver said during his artist talk on Sept. 4. “So what I hope you take away from this exhibition is a feeling of movement and quiet energy.”
“These works are asking you to slow down, to notice the rhythm and the lines, the atmosphere and the color,” Weaver said. “Maybe something will remind you of a body, a leaf or a memory, or maybe it’ll just feel like watching something new or something grow.”
Weaver said he begins his process with pen and paper. “Every line becomes a commitment,” Weaver said. The ink being permanent and unchangeable is a part of his process, he said, describing it as a “constructivism” where he builds something organic from within, like nature does.
“The lines move the way natural things move, like water, vines, cells or even wind. They bend, twist, spiral without straight lines or without hard edges. That’s where the idea of breath comes from,” said Weaver.
“As I begin with lines, I make decisions about color. Color brings the forms to life. The colors I choose are bright and intended to draw you in,” Weaver added. “The color is also permanent. No painting over, no covering up. Any color I choose is the color it will be in the final work.”
Weaver said he once pursued art in college, but quit after receiving a C in a pottery class, denying himself a chance to have his works exhibited as a senior. Years later, after retiring from a career in international education, Weaver — who now splits his time between Iowa and the Netherlands — said he found himself drawing again during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Two years ago, I met with a local artist here in town to get feedback, because I didn’t have feedback on what I’ve done, and she looked at it and said she was inspired by it,” Weaver said. “[She] asked if I had enough to exhibit somewhere. So I started investigating that, and she said I could try this gallery. And I did.”
What began as just a quiet exploration grew into a serious craft that has since evolved into the eye-catching pieces now on display at the Stewart Gallery — Weaver’s first art show, years after graduating from college.
Monica St. Angelo, executive director of the Grinnell Arts Council, and Alesia Lacina, Stewart Gallery committee member, said that they had been planning this exhibit for at least a year.
“This was sort of like a homecoming for him,” St. Angelo said. “He grew up in Gilman, which is just up the road, and he had felt discouraged in pursuing an art career when he was young in college, and I think just now, he’s come back around to really wanting to do it.”
It was one of the most well-attended openings the gallery has seen, drawing families, community members and art lovers from the town.
“John comes from a big family, and so I think a lot of his family had come even from as far away as Texas. It was lovely to be that packed,” St. Angelo said. “It’s not always. I mean, we usually have a nice turnout, and we have sort of devoted attendees in the Grinnell community. But this was really fun.”
Dena Peterson, another member of the Grinnell Area Arts Council committee, said, “I’ve never seen so many people at an opening. So it feels energized. I love it!” She added that looking at the work while curating the pieces changed her perspective as she began to see how the pieces fit together rather than individually.
“When I think of a breath of line, I think of the idea of line being varied,” Peterson said. “It can be very faint. It can fade away. A line can also be created when two shapes come together, and that can create a visual line. So, yeah, the breath thing I love, because that, to me, just suggests space and openness.”
Weaver’s exhibit will be open until Sept. 27 for anyone looking for an invitation to slow down, look closely and watch how intuitive lines and vivid colors can create art full of motion and life.
