Matter Studio Gallery is honored to announce the Artist Talk with
JonMarc Edwards
Title of the show “Spot On” October 1, – October 29, 2023
Artist Talk, Sunday October 15, 2023 2-4 PM
MATTER Studio Gallery is pleased to announce SPOT ON, an exhibition of paintings and works on paper produced by JonMarc Edwards.
My name is Karla Funderburk, and I am the owner and curator of Matter Studio Gallery. I have known JonMarc Edwards for 30 years. I have watched the evolution of his works and have many of his pieces in my own art collection. Edwards’ paintings have progressed through many chapters of minimalistic text, to elaborate contextual graphic poetry, to concise juxtapositions of familiar phrases, symbols, objects, and characters. Many of his new works create a narrative often with multiple paradoxical meanings such as in his piece titled “Forever and a Mayday.” Mayday is known as the international signal of distress, while also known as a celebration of spring and the gains made by workers through the labor movements to establish our eight hour work days in the early 1800’s. In addition, in his piece The Whole Wide World, a ball of colorful paint chips float in a “sea” of vibrant blue-violet creating a visual dichotomy that challenges the viewer to question the depth of field of this floating earth-like sphere. Edwards tricks our eyes into questioning the “reality” of our perspective. Despite the often uncomfortable TRUTH he reveals as in his mixed media piece World Pieces where you interpret it as the map of the world with the symbol of the peace sign breaking apart as an explosion is occuring underneath the pie-shapes, one might also understand it to reflect those same pieces of Peace finding their way back together.
Intelligent, witty, political, yet hopeful, his works encourage us to once again look closer, to look deeper, to contemplate and be willing to recognise the limits we place on ourselves and each other.
This is the third time I’ve shown JonMarc Edwards, twice in Matter Studio Gallery and once at the LA Art Show. This is a show not to be missed, the Artist Talk is October 15, 2023, and the exhibit runs through October 29, 2023.
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.
– JonMarc Edwards
https://www.matterstudiogallery.com
