Artists on Central

J.C. Graham
Art in "Conversations" at Artists on Central
November 7 - November 30, 2008

The main underlying reason for the title of the November show at Artists on Central Art Gallery is the artist seeks to depict the forced silence of youth to which he might lend a voice through his artwork. J. C. Graham opens his first Memphis art show titled "Conversations with the Children" Nov. 7 with a reception at the gallery from 5:00 pm 'til 8:00 pm. Guests will be treated to visions of heavily collaged mixed media imagery with "voices" that speak of flight and escape, frustrations and rants, all indicative escapes of one's inner child.

Growing up in Arkansas within a farming family, J. C. Graham spent his childhood collecting antique and discarded items. The influence of his mother as the owner of an antique store and his father as a farmer combined to give J. C. an appreciation for both the geography of the delta and its history. J. C. says "I was raised by parents and grandparents who were typical southerners but 'spicey' . . . with a grandfather who drank too heavily and a grandmother too rooted in Jesus."

After receiving a BFA from Williams Baptist College, J. C. became a successful entrepreneur in an antique stone and frame shop. Upon selling the store he moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where his involvement with the non-profit Florida Craftsmen-a statewide fine craft association-exposed J. C. to a rich collection of artwork that heavily inspired his own work. It was here that he was also exposed to Cuban American artists who taught J. C. that holding on to traditional heritage and character is a good thing and can be both exploited and explored through modern movements in art.

Moving back to the Mid South, J. C. found solace in treasure hunts to southern flea markets, the mysteries of abandoned buildings, black birds as they flew over fields of wheat, the Delta, arrowheads, trash heaps on river banks and "poor children with little to cling to other than their youth".

With artwork that leans heavily on collage and synthetic imagery J. C. uses the image of children in his work to represent the forced silence of youth to which he tries give voice. Images of birds are reflective of flight and escape. The scrawl that peppers the work not only lends linear aspects to the pieces, but are bits and pieces of words that highlight the frustrations and rants of children and are indicative of escapes to places where the artist's inner child lives and places that he has yet to visit.