Jaya King
creates intense figures and subtle landscape paintings using gouache and wood.
The pieces are expressed in two layers: what she paints on, and what is painted
on this surface. She typically works on scrap lumber that has been heavily worn
and blemished by weather and time. Her “portraits” have a unique sculptural
quality, stemming from the underlying texture of the wood.
Within each composition, Jaya’s sadly
expressive figures seem to breathe and cry out from a purgatory, lost in their
own wonderland. The attitude of these dark figures began to define their own
environment. Recently, she left behind a subtly narrative figure painting style
for one that is more directly involved with the landscape itself. Consequently,
her paintings are concentrated with intense power and rawness.
This is artwork that taps into
emotions we try to ignore. It forces an inner-response, something that pulls on
your sleeve, something you can’t ignore. There are deep recesses in a person
that an image can touch; that is what must be created with each piece. She digs
her fingers into the underbelly of America, pedestals the underdog, spotlights
the “taboo”. It’s not the shock value she does it for; it’s a path toward
understanding through creation.
2007
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