JEREMY MANN Experimentations, Process and Emotions
Opening Friday, April 28th, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. on display through May 20th, 2017
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xperimental foundations, intentional artistic processes and opposing poetic emotions make up Jeremy Mann’s latest body of sensuous portraits and moody cityscapes, debuting this spring at EVOKE Contemporary. The San Francisco artist’s seemingly distinct subject matter is tied by underlying emotive forces, allowing the viewer to see past the subject and experience the poetic, yet intense emotional impact that is the essence of Mann’s work and the captivating draw for his global following. Experimentations, Process and Emotions opens April 28th with an artist reception, and will be on display through May 20th.
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“It’s very abstract thinking and in the end, very realistic painting with absolutely no realism to it,” says Mann of his cityscapes in Loic Zimmerman’s recent documentary on his work, A Solitary Mann. “When you get up close, it’s a sloppy mess of garbage but it feels right.” The “sloppy mess” Mann refers to is the collision of abstract forms fueled by an aggressive painting process; from a distance, these stains, scrapes and slaps of oil paint evoke shadowy skyscrapers, blurry brake lights and the reflective glare of wet pavement. Mann’s abstract mark making is masterfully and intentionally rendered so that each gestural brushstroke, streak of light and fling of paint coalesce into a stimulating urban landscape drenched in monotone mystery. In his portraits, Mann’s female figures gracefully emerge from a similarly brooding background as soft dreamy visions surrounded by fast brushwork or ominous disappearing forms. These figurative works are the result of extensive photographic experiments in which Mann stages an elaborate setting in his studio with a live model. Only after choreographing the set and costume, photographing the subject, developing the photos and scanning the negatives does he begin to paint, allowing the seductive emotional quality of the model’s persona and adornment to come through while also channeling the vigor that feeds his cityscapes. “I would never want to look at a painting that didn’t have some balance of two opposing forces: melancholy and elation, beauty and ugly, calm in a fog of aggression,” says Mann. “It’s one of the theoretical balances which must exist to fully understand the thing you are looking at.” Mann’s goal as a contemporary realist painter goes beyond recreating trite details to capturing abstract thoughts and feelings that simultaneously exist within a provocative feminine glance and a rainy urban commute. It’s in the quick brushstrokes and harmonious color tones that collectively make up a graceful, melancholy female form, where the viewer can find the urgency of a stormy street at rush hour or the lonely brilliance of a midnight streetlamp. This balance of emotion along with the artist’s skillful treatment of form, color, movement and light ties the exhibition’s categorical subjects into a single, rhythmically balanced body of work.
Cover: NYC #23, oil on panel, 48 x 48 (detail, view on page 6)
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EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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medium to large works
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Limbus Memoria, oil on panel, 26 x 49
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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The Lilin Paramour, oil on panel, 36 x 36
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NYC #23, oil on panel, 48 x 48 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Composition 169, oil on panel, 48 x 48
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SF 10, oil on panel, 48 x 48 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Composition 168, oil on panel, 30 x 30
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SF 9, oil on panel, 36 x 36
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Composition 170, oil on panel, 48 x 48
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Composition 164, oil on panel, 36 x 36
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Leveret, oil on panel, 36 x 36
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The Sleepless Dream, oil on panel, 12 x 24
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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small works
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Through the Rain, to the Wharf, oil on panel, 12 x 12
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Downtown Amber Morning, oil on panel, 12 x 12
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The Downtown Storm, oil on panel, 12 x 12
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Evening in the Mission, oil on panel, 12 x 12
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Castro Downpour (Version Two), oil on panel, 12 x 12 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Note in Pale Green #8, oil on panel, 9 x 12
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Note in Blue #5, oil on panel, 9 x 12
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Note in Pale Green #10, oil on panel, 10 x 8
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Note in Blue #6, oil on panel, 8 x 10
EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 30 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 31, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 32 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 33, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 34 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Cityscape - Composed Form Study 35, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Figure - Composed Form Study 8 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Figure - Composed Form Study 9, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Figure - Composed Form Study 10 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Figure - Composed Form Study 11, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
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Figure - Composed Form Study 12 , oil on panel, 6 x 6
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Figure - Composed Form Study 13, oil on panel, 6 x 6 EVOKE Contemporary 550 south guadalupe street santa fe, NM 87501 505.995.9902
The Mid City Storm, oil on panel, 12 x 12
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