Portico Gallery Presents Wayson R. Jones In Shades A Solo Exhibition of Black and White Paintings

Artist Reception: Saturday, October 9 from 6pm to 8pm

Masks and Proof of vaccinations required.

Portico Gallery is excited to announce our new exhibition In Shades, a solo exhibition of Wayson R. Jones. This exhibition features a selection of Black and White paintings from 2013 – 2021. As the artists writes in his statement:

“I experience my work as the creation of artifacts that embody elemental themes: earth, sky, planets, childhood, bodies, decay. I proceed from a belief that political thought is implicit in a sense, and therefore can be present in abstract work. Considering an image of water can lead quite naturally to thinking about crucial environmental and human rights issues. Titling the works is important to suggesting such connections.

Letting the material lead the process allows me to work from my deeper self, without premeditation. Once, as a sleepless six-year-old, I wandered out of my grandmother’s country home, looked up, and saw the Milky Way filling the night sky. Not understanding what it was, my jaw dropped in amazement. That awe-struck feeling has never left me. A suggestion of those qualities of ancient vastness and wonder is what I want my work to express.”

Wayson R. Jones is a painter, musician, and spoken-word artist. He received a degree in music from University of Maryland and later went on to perform with renowned poet Essex Hemphill, as part of Washington DC’s pioneering Black Gay and Lesbian arts scene of the 1980s and ‘90s. The two performed in venues including dc space, Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, The Painted Bride (Philadelphia), LACE (Los Angeles), and LaMama Theater (NYC), and appeared in works by filmmaker Isaac Julien (Looking for Langston) and videographer Marlon Riggs (Tongues Untied, Black Is/Black Ain’t). His visual art is informed by these experiences and by an exuberant approach to materiality and process.

Gallery Hours:

• Saturday 12-3 pm
• and by appointment 202-487-8458

Portico Gallery is located at 3807 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood MD.