NEWBURYPORT — Through Aug. 9, CHALK Gallery is hosting a collection of jazz linoleum prints by Peter Bodge.
Bodge, a jazz drummer, artist, historian and teacher, has spent his artistic career merging his passion for visual expression with his love of jazz.
All are welcome on Thursday at 5 p.m. for “A Conversation with Myself,” a talk by Bodge about jazz music, jazz musicians, linoleum prints and his artistic inspiration.
Bodge takes inspiration from many places. For example, his “Dancin’ Suites” series is a riff on Jackson Pollack. This series of prints though built on the same calligraphic image, such as jazz improvisation, has variations that result in dramatic shifts – foreground and background change places to the point where even seen side by side, it’s hard to believe they began with the same block.
“That’s the goal of the improviser – a different interpretation every time it’s played,” Bodge said.
In another print, Bodge portrays Thelonious Monk as Picasso might have depicted him, an homage to both artists.
CHALK Gallery is at 3 Harris St.