Jason Brown has dedicated so much of himself to supporting the Portland art scene recently as a gallerist/arts advocate at GoodFoot, Peoples Art of Portland, Po Boy Art, and elsewhere, that newcomers to Portland might not recognize this veteran’s work. To help remedy this, Ford Gallery has collected select works of Brown’s for this retrospective to celebrate the artist who has inspired so many others over the years.
Join us on Saturday, July 16, 2016 at 6 pm for an opening celebration. The show runs through August 13.
Jason Brown’s Artist Statement:
“Painting is my vessel of communication. Art becomes a social and personal dialectic for me aimed at resolving inner and public conflict while simultaneously celebrating humanity.
“Through irony, humor, bold and subtle imagery, I convey my vision to others. I place my characters in settings where the rooftops of society have been cut off and their idiosyncrasies become their vulnerabilities. By utilizing perspective, I place my characters into a realm that seems comfortable and inviting, but contains certain disjointed qualities. My characters explode out of their setting while remaining stoic, as though they are unaffected by their environment — a petty thief that steals the tip of a waitress left on the bar by a previous patron; the meat market patrons with their robust, crazed egos manipulating the masses with their decedent carnage.
“Some have suggested that my work has a masculine perspective, but I certainly do not represent or embody the masculine viewpoint. Ultimately, I paint individuals transfixed by their struggle, at times framing the daily lives of “Martyred Saints”, “Super humans” that have routines and transgressions just as anyone else. (The musician who forgets he is mortal for a brief second and the lightning bolt of god touches his forehead, knighting this saint a forbearer of humanity – the husband who goes into a strip bar for directions, and is coincidentally spotted by his wife.)
“I am intrigued by the situational moments that could be explained, but the individual finds himself trapped by the circumstances. Through observation and perspective I make an earnest attempt at painting the honesty of humanity.”
