new paintings

happy / like you, acrylic on wood panel, 10×14

people / like me, acrylic on wood panel, 10×14

there is an answer in the question / smelling faintly of blood, acrylic on wood panel, 23×23

you ask for so little / the gain achieved is therefore due, acrylic on wood panel, 30×20

the second blind will quickly follow the first / being who we are, acrylic on wood panel, 21×14

It’s October and both of the exhibitions my paintings were in have come to an end. The Louisiana Contemporary at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and Art Melt at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge were well attended and filled with an impressive collection of Louisiana artists.

I’ve included images of a few newly completed pieces, including a small diptych. More information will appear on my website.

Be on the lookout for upcoming exhibitions and more new pieces. You can subscribe to my blog, email list, or just bookmark my web page.

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you’re welcome to stop by

Saturday, December 12 from 11-6 : Heart the Art – Bizarre Street Party

BAC and Flying Heart Brewing will offer live music, food trucks, art vendors, and activities! Join us throughout the day to taste great food, hear a variety of music, and see an eclectic mix of local art. I’ll be in my studio so you’re welcome to drop in, say hello, and see what I’ve been working on.

BAC will be screening “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” outside at 5 pm. Camp out on the lawn with the entire family to enjoy this classic holiday comedy.

If you can’t make it, be sure to stop by Graphite Galleries in New Orleans, The Agora Borealis in Shreveport, and Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge. The holiday season is upon us!

i wish everyone was as happy as me, gouache on paper, 22×30

 

100% Cotton Rag

A couple of weeks ago I dug into my stash of paper, I pulled out my tubes of gouache and started on a series of small paintings (11×12). I’m going to mount them to wood panels so they can hang as is, or framed. Here are the first 5 of 12:

she meant more than he understood and was less than capable of showing it, gouache on paper, 11×12

 

she shared his feelings too much and too often, gouache on paper, 11×12

 

it struck him as a failure in his own sight that he had never seen a ghost, gouache on paper, 12×11

 

someone should really tell her, gouache on paper, 12×11

 

hell is reassuring, gouache on paper, 12×11

I’ve added them to the website so you can check price and availability  if you’re interested.

Be sure to take a look at my paintings  in person if you’re ever in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Monroe, or Shreveport.

Happy New Year!

Since we are almost halfway through January, I thought it would be a good idea to wish you all a happy new year. If you follow me on facebook, instagram(@jchambers), or twitter(@chambers_artist) then you know I was able to meet my goal of 100 pieces of art in 2014. Below are a handful of some of the last pieces completed in 2014. Visit my website to see all the images, info, and prices.

despite the restraining effect of the attractive force, acrylic on wood panel, 23×23

i wish everyone was as happy as me, gouache on paper, 22×30

finally and truly happy, gouache on paper, 22×30

what’s it like to be who you are? gouache on paper, 22×30

 

My first special exhibition of 2015 will be the Surreal Salon 7 at the Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art. Below is the piece that will be exhibited.

nice is better than good, acrylic on wood panel, 35×23, 2014

I look forward to keeping you informed of things to come.

New work, and where to find it.

Happy Holidays! Here are images of some new paintings. Some of them are leaving the studio this month. Six pieces are headed out to galleries, and one has been accepted for exhibition in Surreal Salon 7. Here are the pieces leaving this week, and where you can find them:

 

Graphite Galleries:

the days of dreaming had come to an end / i can find my story in yours, acrylic on wood panel, 71×45, 2014

conversely any potential difference will be immediately equalized, acrylic on wood panel, 35×45, 2014

do you like you? acrylic on wood panel, 35×45, 2014

 

Ann Connelly Fine Art:

i’m sorry, gouache on paper, 22×30, 2014

in it everyone knows everyone else, gouache on paper, 22×30, 2013

at night he would park in the lot across the street and watch her rock their world to sleep, gouache on paper, 22×30, 2014

Baton Rouge Gallery – center for contemporary art (Jan. 4 -29):

nice is better than good, acrylic on wood panel, 35×23, 2014

My Studio:

i wanted to say what i hoped you’d say back, gouache on paper, 22×30, 2014

echoes of the most distant objects, gouache on paper, 22×30, 2014

You can find my work at Graphite Galleries in New Orleans, Ann Connelly Fine Art in Baton Rouge, and The Agora Borealis in Shreveport.

nothing feels like the first time

Last week, I was able to attend the reception for Computer Aided at the Masur Museum of Art. Computer Aided is an exhibition examining the impact technology has on current art making practices and contemporary culture. I was enjoyed reading what Curator Benjamin Hickey had to say about my work in the exhibition catalogue:

“For Computer Aided, Chambers created an edition of nine mono prints on which he drew images with gouache and ink. He also used the computer drafting program Illustrator to print vinyl stickers featuring the silhouettes of these works’ characters as well as the words “nothing feels like the first time,” the name of the edition. The silhouettes left voids filled by the brilliant white paper beneath and bring to mind the various meanings lurking behind the words and images on Chambers’ pieces. It is interesting to think of printmaking as a near timeless medium associated with Albrecht Durer, one of the medium’s most famous and expert practitioners who worked in the sixteenth century. Printmaking was the first reliable way to make copies of an image, a feat that is now seen more as a right than a potentially laborious art form. Each of Chambers’ mono prints are nearly identical, but were individually made, thereby calling attention to how difficult image making has been in a historic sense. Chambers’ mingling of historic and contemporary art making techniques lends his art a great deal of historic perspective. Specifically, a whole series of images titled nothing feels like the first time asks if it is important to prioritize the means in which we experience images. Is seeing a thumbnail of an image search on Google a lesser experience that seeing the original in person?

Mr. Hickey was spot-on. The work is also concerned with the incongruity between the limitations of language and our range of experience. Nothing feels like the first time, but there are many first times. With infinite alterations that take place within repeated happenings, how do we decide which experience is new or merely another repeat in a long line of similar situations?

The show will be on exhibit through October 5, 2013. The Museum is open 9-5, Closed on Sundays and Mondays. The exhibit contains work from the following artists:

Keliy Anderson-Staley
Joshua Chambers
Harold Cohen
Mat Collishaw
Craig Damrauer
Hanson Elahi
Shepard Fairey
Damien Hirst
Jenny Holzer
John Rodriguez
Jes Schrom & Graham Simpson
Kate Shannon
Marni Shindelman & Nate Larson
Bill Viola

I have two exhibitions coming up in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Both shows will open in October. Stayed tuned for more info.

really good news

I’m not really sure how it happened, but last week’s post was deleted. Here are the images I had intended to post last week:

you should always say thank you, or at least say please, acrylic on panel, 10×10, $200

i need it as much as you need me, ink on paper, 30×22, $300

this is part of loving someone, ink on paper, 22×30, $300

these meant more when i was younger, ink and gouache on paper, 30×22, $300

i am a hero, ink and gouache on paper, 30×22, $300

i refuse to be forgotten, ink and gouache on paper, 30×22, $300

A really good thing happened this week: I was awarded “best in show” at the Shreveport Regional Arts Council’s exhibition Critical Mass. The winning painting is titled “I can’t be what I once was” (you can look it up on the website). Besides that cash award, there are some pretty exciting things that come along with the award. First, I will have a solo exhibition in the third floor gallery of Artspace in July. Second, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council will take out a 1/4 page ad in a prominent art magazine to publicize the show (Art News/Art in America). Third, the juror for the show, San Diego art critic Lauren Buscemi will write a review of the solo show to be published in local/national publications and websites. Needless to say I am very excited, and feeling very fortunate. Critical Mass is full of impressive artists living in Northwest Louisiana. If you are in the Shreveport area you should make it a point to stop by.

Graphite Galleries in New Orleans has been doing a wonderful job selling my work,  but this means I am going to be producing like a mad man. I have the solo show in the Leslie Powell Gallery in May/June, the solo show in Artspace July/August, the group show in the Masur Museum of Art June/October, and the group show in The Shaw Center for the Arts October/November.

When it rains, it pours.

If you pray, pray for my wife.