Emociones y Memorias / Immortal Splendor:
The Art of Wander Matos and Gary Jones
Featured Artists: Wander Matos, Gary Jones
On View: Friday, January 31 - Sunday, February 23
Gallery Opening: Friday, January 31st, 5-8 PM
Coffee Talk: Sunday, February 2nd, 1-3 PM
Artist Statement: Wander Matos
My works are nothing more than emotions and memories in an attempt to re-question the concept of indemnity, a process that is always based on the experience of daily life, which through a concretization with painting becomes a creative experience and then continues an immense struggle with the material.
Artist Statement: Gary Jones
IMMORTAL SPLENDOR is a contemporary re-imagination of the untamed landscape of Colonial New England. Hyper-colorized imagery juxtaposed beneath descriptions of this country’s earliest runaway African slaves, the artist Gary Jones’s work is meant to incite discussion and re-invoke the memory of the forgotten souls upon which this nation was built.
by Wander Matos
by Gary Jones
by Wander Matos
by Gary Jones
by Wander Matos
by Gary Jones
by Wander Matos
by Gary Jones
by Wander Matos
Artist Bio: Wander Matos
Born in the city of Barahona, Dominican Republic, he is the second of four siblings, and his parents are Mrs. Carmen Martinez and Mr. Antonio Matos. He showed an interest in drawing as young as age four, and he moved to Santo Domingo to live with his aunt as a young man. At age 20, he joined the Art School at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and received a scholarship to attend the Altos del Chavón School of Art and Design, where he graduated with honors. Matos has participated in cultural exchange art programs with the National School of Plastic Arts at Universidad Autónoma de Mexico in Mexico City, and done freelance work creating props for several renowned companies, including Dominican National Beer, National Bottling Company (Coca-Cola), Brugal & Co., Barceló & Co. Banco BHD, Banco León and Asociación Popular. He has taken part in biennales and has won many painting competitions.
Artist Bio: Gary Jones
Through vividly hyper-colored landscapes that serve as a backdrop for bold textual elements, Jones crafts a visual narrative that presents an Afro-futuristic vision that challenges America's entrenched pastoral traditions.
Jones's journey into the realm of photography began during his college years, sparking a self-taught exploration that would shape his artistic trajectory. Born in 1962 in Enterprise, Alabama, Jones initially pursued Undergraduate Drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before relocating to Los Angeles to embark on a career in screenwriting. Awarded the prestigious Guy Alexander Hanks & Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship at USC, he further distinguished himself by optioning several screenplays, including one with Spike Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks.
Upon returning to his family home in New Jersey, Jones reignited his passion for photography, merging it with his literary exploration of socio-political themes and his cinematic impulse to shed light on America's complex history.