MATTER STUDIO GALLERY is pleased to announce SPOT ON, an exhibition of paintings and works on paper produced by JONMARC EDWARDS. The opening reception is on October 1st from 4 pm to 8 pm at 5080 West Pico Blvd, LA 90019. The collection will run through October 29th,2023.
The work included in SPOT ON continues JonMarc Edwards’ eclectic relationship with color-filled abstract constructions and the superfluous by-products of our throw-away culture.
JME mashes appropriated images, found objects, and discarded materials around his Silver Lake studio to create incisive social commentaries onto sensual formalistic surfaces. JME accentuates the materiality by deftly organizing frames, textures, and containers with distressed packaging, unwanted toys, and scattered debris. These provocative pieces encourage the viewer to question the grotesque, high-minded, and banal reverie we find in the consumerism we rely on for comfort, sexual revelation, or spiritual awakening.
SPOT ON celebrates the power of art to inspire us as JME finds beauty, hope, and meaning despite the formidable mess and decay surrounding us in our environment. On MAY DAY (2023), JME constructed a container holding plastic toys, reusable bags, and other discarded debris with what appears to be floating chunks of ice. The accumulation of random childlike components with fragments of what could be interpreted as the shorn ice shelf is a compelling message buried in a mixture of lost innocence and waste.
Another painting, IXNAY FAUNTLEROY (2021), is a study in contrasts with its playful embodiment of carefree colorful disks on one side, and the austere strength of post and lintel composition on the other. SPOT ON (2023), the artist has incorporated broken glass with colorful dried paint fragments to create an aura of mystery and a unique display of concrete sensuality.
JonMarc Edwards remains dedicated to exploring the relationship between visual languages and the process we utilize to coax the most from them. This will be JME’s second show at MATTER Studio Gallery. My paintings put me on the spot, they amplify my inner dialog. I want to express something meaningful, while always in pursuit of a compelling picture.
