Jesse Edwards

Jesse Edwards (b. 1977, Hayden Lake, Idaho) recontextualizes his graphic and pop-culture subject matter by employing art historical genres such as abstraction, still life, landscape, and portraiture in his paintings and sculptures. Working with clay and oil on linen, Edwards renders uncompromisingly contemporary depictions of imagery pulled from his laptop, vintage cartoons, models sourced through Craigslist, and clothing and paraphernalia staged in classical arrangements on a folding table in his studio. Edwards plays masterfully with notions of the personal and the strange, especially in his ceramic cellphones and television sets, which connote a specific time and place, while signaling to our ever-growing screen obsession. Across mediums, Edwards’ work retains an undeniable warmth and sincerity for his subject matter; his is an homage to the profane.