JonMarc Edwards

American (Leavenworth KS. 1959)

Gray Kinda Suits

Mixed media on Canvas

36 x 48 inches 2017

Since deciding to remain obscure and create for the most part in isolation JonMarc has produced work in media that range from small paintings to monumental set pieces. In this mixed media collage on wood panel Gray Kinda Suits* he composes laser cut stencils (mechanical uniformity) on a previously discarded painting to create a dialogue between the gray labyrinthine under-structure of the old painting and the “painterly vibrancy” of the new.

Rather than choose to destroy or gesso over in its entirety the previous work JM uses this opportunity to create a dialogue between abandonment and revitalization. The colors preform and stand out from the monochromatic gray and in doing so unmask the former painting’s intention; confuse, monotony, languish.

Edwards work evokes the recognizable imagery of Jasper Johns or more recently Christopher Wool. But rather than let the stencil stand on its own merit or function JonMarc uses the ready-made templates and brushy color schemes to obscure past meanings and actions to form new “exertions” between past and present. Edwards reveals the camouflage of ready-made and artistic gesture as tools to help express how even seemingly innocuous an overt art strategies can band together to create vital new works from past miscalculations.

*Grateful Dead title / ref