JONATHON JAMIL

THE BASICS

SANMAN STUDIOS, HOUSTON, TX

The exhibition includes works from the first collection created by the 19 year old artist. In his first solo exhibition, Jamil takes viewers on a journey through the brooding landscape of self-evaluation, describing the show as a letter to himself. Jamill’s artwork expresses an intentional withdrawal into himself as he explores the breadth of what self truths can be uncovered when isolated from the world. Throughout the series of paintings, the artist contemplates rejecting the binary of “good and bad” personhood. Instead, Jamill embraces the complexity of the burdened human experience, critiquing societal beliefs that limit self exploration. Purposely excluding contextual details, the ambiguity in Jamill's work allows his audience to sit with their personal reconciliation of who they are capable of being if they, too, retreat into the darkness of their individual selves. The abstract paintings' raw gestural marks and enigmatic symbols are evidence of Jean-Michel Basquiat's influence in Jamill’s work. - Raquel Seymone