Jason Stovall: TRICEPHALOS

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Jason Stoval, "Tricephalos," 2018

A hesitation to admit a physical and emotional need for others is a key aspect of my work. I harbour unresolved feelings toward a place and group of people I belong to which influences my relationships with others, and the paintings I create. My upbringing, heavily influenced by the conservative and religious values of Alberta, and by the transient workforce of the oil sands, combines with the aforementioned aspects producing content that contrasts issues of power and tension with themes of identity and masculinity. This content stems from analysing how growing up queer in Fort McMurray, Alberta, has and continues to impact my life and relationships.

I see my paintings as situations, formed while analysing things that have affected myself, and other people, while at the same time applying a critical approach to matters of representation in painting. I manipulate figures using the formal capacities of paint to create a tension that does not always rest well on a viewer’s eye or conscience. This may occur in part through colour combinations, changes in style or application, or from the depictions of figures themselves. I want paintings to seem unsettled, like my current perception of the societies and places I am part of.

The work for the exhibition was completed in Europe while completing the requirements of the Joseph Plaskett Award.

 - Jason Stovall

Artist Bio:Jason Stovall was born in 1989 in Edmonton, Alberta, but raised in Fort McMurray. The mixed suburban and industrial setting of Fort McMurray is the starting point for the juxtaposing of issues such as power and tension with themes of identity and masculinity in Stovall’s work. Stovall’s upbringing, heavily influenced by the conservative and religious values of Alberta, and by the transient workforce constantly coming and going from the oil sands, combines to form the basis of subject matter for his work.

Jason Stovall has been involved in art communities volunteering, working, and showing artwork since 2008. He has received awards and scholarships for academic and artistic achievements including the Joseph Plaskett Award in 2017. He received a BFA from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, in 2012, and a MFA from Western University, London, ON, in 2016.