Meditations on Relentless Impermanence: The Brokeneck Mountain Exhibition
If you are in the Lawrence, area, join us at the opening of John’s exhibition. Exhibition opens at 5 pm, Friday, May 29th, 2026, at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66044. For inquiries, call: 785-304-4005. A selection of the paintings included can also be seen at John Hulsey Fine Art/Brokeneck Mountain Exhibition.
Recently, I had a freak accident, fell and fractured a vertebra in my neck, creating what the doctors refer to as a “hangman’s fracture”. My break was the least serious of those kinds of things, the worst cases being unthinkable. Healing will take some time — it is another mountain to climb, but I will be fine. A thing like that, coming out of the blue, as it did, can change the way a person thinks about their life and perhaps their priorities.
As I was creating work for this exhibition at the time my accident happened, I realized that the opportunity to reshape my vision for this had been thrust upon me. I began to think about the threads of thought which have tied together and powered my work over the last 45 years. I have been fortunate to travel extensively, painting in so many beautiful places in the U.S. and Europe. I’ve painted rivers and mountains, marshes and seashores, prairies and deep, old-growth forests. I’ve been an artist-in-residence in three of our most spectacular National Parks.
In all these places I hear Nature’s admonition: Be HERE, Now. Not so easy to do, that. When I have been able to eliminate distractions and focus intently on where I am, I have witnessed Nature open up to my gaze as I quit trying to interpret or label what I’m seeing. At those moments, I no longer have to craft a picture or exert control. I am very aware that Nature is not a landscape painting, it is a living, breathing, constantly evolving mega-organism of which I am a small part. My tools are humble and my abilities often fall short. I use colored pigments and funny sticks with hair attached to the ends to suggest moments of light and shadow, shapes and colors, while trying to get at the heart of supremely perfect moments of incredible beauty. That Here and Now is what I’m trying to put into my work, for as long as I can. If there are any revelations in it, they are not mine to hoard. It is my duty to share them. I hope they resonate with you as well.