New York, NY, June 7, 2010 - Raandesk
Gallery
of Art is pleased to announce Trilogy,
a solo
exhibition of paintings by Jason Bryant on view from September 16 -
November 12, 2010. The exhibition's eight large-scale paintings are
organized in three distinct conceptual series informally identified as
Rubric,
Merging Iconography and
Symbolic Portraiture. Trilogy
is a
continuation and further exploration of Bryant's fascination with film,
skateboarding culture and the presentation of the self. The body of
work showcases his signature photorealistic style through aggressive
compositional cropping and the uniform editing out of a subject's eyes
with highly technical refinement.
"Bryant's paintings address aspects of
self-identity and
perception through varying viewpoints of portraiture," explains Jessica
L. Porter, owner of Raandesk Gallery of Art. "The works featured in
Trilogy are both
intimate and personal, but still invite viewer participation and
interpretation."
Rubric
Fairness?
2010, Oil on canvas, 36"x72"
|
Four paintings
comprise the Rubric series. Based on source images of iconic black
and white stills from classic Hollywood films like The Wild One (1947) starring
Marlon Brando,and Bringing Up Baby (1938) starring
Katharine Hepburn and Carey Grant, Bryant builds canvases that evoke a
dramatic, cinematic format. He then adds subtitles to the bottom of
the
composition, creating dissonance between the overall image and the
meaning of the copy. These subtitles are either of Bryant's own
creation
or plucked from the cultural landscape of song lyrics and movie
dialogue ultimately changing the complexion of the original film
still.
Merging
Iconography
Comprised of two
paintings, these works serve to combine
|
Love is Just a Joy Ride
2010, Oil on canvas, 50" x 50" |
two aspects of Bryant's life by
merging skateboarding icons
into paintings of
black and white film
stills. Employing
trompe l'oeil, the
brightly colored skate graphics,
interact with the canvas and the picture plane in mischievous and
playful ways. Bryant presents viewers with a complex view of himself
and popular culture through the juxtaposition of elegant, silver screen
stills and raw, aggressive skateboarding graphics.
Symbolic
Portraiture
|
I Live For That Look, After J 2009, Oil on canvas, 60" x
40" |
Continuing in
his
tradition of portraiture, the two paintings in Symbolic
Portraiture confront the viewer
with the back of female
subjects, dressed in t-shirts, which depict album cover art. The
artist
and album cover presented is an identification and portraiture device,
presenting a specific facet of an individual's personality to the
viewer.
About the
Artist
Jason
Bryant
was born
in 1976 in Wilson, North Carolina and lives and works in New York
City. He received
his
BFA in Painting from East Carolina University in Greenville, North
Carolina in 1999, before completing his MFA at Maryland institute
College of Art in 2004. He has had solo exhibitions in New York,
Maryland, and North Carolina, and has been included in group
exhibitions
throughout the U.S. and internationally, at venues including Il Ramo
d'oro in Naples, Italy; The Show Room in Nashville, Tennessee; Gallery
32 in London, England, and The Hemicycle Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Listing
Information
When:
-
Exhibition Dates:
September 16 - November 12,
2010
-
Press
Preview: Thursday, September 16, 2010: 6:30 - 7pm
-
Opening
Reception: Thursday, September 16, 2010: 7 - 9pm
Where:
- Raandesk
Gallery
16 W. 23rd Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY
10010
www.raandeskgallery.com
212.696.7432
Gallery
Hours:
- Saturday
and Sunday, 12 -4 PM and by appointment