The 1912 Gallery to Display Works of Figurative Painter

The works of a contemporary figurative painter will be on exhibit at The 1912 Gallery of Emory & Henry College from Sept. 18 through Oct. 20.

Josh George will speak about his work during an Artalk on Monday, Sept. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Board of Visitors Lounge of Van Dyke Center. The 1912 Gallery, located at the Emory Train Depot, will open at 6:30 p.m. for viewing and after the Artalk for a reception with the artist. 

George’s lush, crusty, saturated and enigmatic paintings feature people, animals and domestic scenes, often with a surreal twist. He is a contemporary figurative painter that also has been attracted to the urban landscape. Many of his paintings could be stills from movies. They embody the cinematic concept of a shot that is captured in a frame, playful and complex. As a child, he was the consummate “boy doodler” that drew robots, barbarians and superheroes and grew up reading comics and watching action movies.

The show at The 1912 Gallery is a document of Josh George’s continued exploration of mixing media such as oil and acrylics with items found in junk yards and thrift shops. He is setting himself a playground with specific borders; as long as he can stay within a certain range of values regarding color temperature and texture, anything goes. The credo is, “There are no rules in art.”

He humbly admits being influenced by many greats in the history of art, but his pictorial language is very much his own, a marriage of respect to heritage with what is happening now.

George received his bachelor of fine arts degree from Kansas City Art Institute and has also attended Central Missouri State University and The Illustration Academy. He spent several years in New York and served as part of the painting faculty at the Pratt Institute from 2006 to 2009. He now lives in Richmond, Va. He is represented by several galleries in New York City, including Forre Fine Art, Gallery C, Paul Scott Gallery, Tria Gallery and Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond.

The exhibition is free and open to the public and is open Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-5 p.m., September 18 through October, except during the College’s Fall break, October 10-13, 2012; or by appointment.  Please call 276.944.6866 or lkincaid@ehc.edu.  The 1912 Gallery is located on the campus of Emory & Henry College.  Take I-81 exit 26.