Jon Elliott
I imagine worlds of pattern and complexity that float in between the direct perception of representational imagery and a conceptual patterning. This “in between-ness” is the most important character of my process. Only by being in-between, in a place of uncertainty and possibility, can the necessary transformations take place. Being in this state of uncertainty forces us to wrestle out imaginative solutions.
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Memory is our creative and emotional attempt at making meaning out of the elementary particles of our experiences. In our memories and in our paintings, we are constantly putting all these particles and fragments together, transforming them into something that communicates. We’re given a highly limited existence, and all we can do is try to hold onto the memories of the people, places and experiences that define who we are, and try to paint them all together in an attempt to communicate to ourselves and to each other. Our lives are a vast pattern that cannot truly be decoded, and can only be made whole through a creative and subjective process.
Bio
Jon Elliott (b. 1974) is an artist living in Brooklyn, NY. He studied Drawing/Painting at Georgia State University in Atlanta, receiving a BFA degree in 1999 and followed that up with an MFA in Painting/Printmaking from RISD in 2001. Since moving to NY in 2001, Jon has been included in many group shows and has had several solo shows displaying works in a variety of mediums, but focused mainly on painting.
In Fall of 2019 Jon completed his first Public Art Commission through the Percent for Art Program.
Selected group shows include "Waterlogged," Transmitter Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, "Trajectories" at Van Der Plas Gallery, NY, "Paper Band" at Jason McCoy Gallery, NY, "Signs of the Apocalypse/Rapture" at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, "Nature Interrupted" at the Chelsea Museum NY, "From Our Living Room To Yours" at Goff+Rosenthal-Berlin, and SIGGRAPH Asia in Yokahama, Japan. Jon has also participated in group shows at White Box, NY, Nicholas Robinson Gallery, NY, Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery, Coastal Carolina University, SC, National Arts Club, NY, Sabina Lee Gallery, Los Angeles, Eyedrum in Atlanta, Techne Arts Center in San Diego, and was included in "After Matisse/Picasso" at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. In 2010 Jon participated in the Edward Albee Foundation residency. Jon has been featured in Esquire Magazine, and has had shows reviewed in the Brooklyn Rail,The Reading Eagle, Artweek Magazine, NY Arts Magazine, New York Artworld Magazine, artcritical.com, New York Press, and The Atlanta journal and Constitution.
Selected solo shows include "Parity Time," at The Royal, Brooklyn, NY. "The Pursuit of Happiness," Freedman Gallery, Albright College, Reading, PA. "Continental Drift," 31GRAND Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. "On the Outlands of Empire," 31GRAND Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.