(Embrace Your Demons, 96” x 48” Acrylic + enamel paint on homemade wood panel by Jake Kenobi)
The Annex Gallery announced their new exhibition, Jake Kenobi: Beneath the Waves. This exhibition includes mixed media paintings that will be on view from through March 24. The Annex Gallery space is located inside the Franklin Crossing building and is a program of Scalehouse Collaborative for the Arts.
Statement from the Artist
“Beneath the Waves is an emotional body of illustrative abstract expressionist paintings, created mainly with acrylic and enamel paints on homemade wood panels, sometimes including upcycled trash adhered to the surface for added depth and texture. The work encourages the viewer to practice radical vulnerability in their day-to-day lives, as well as the acceptance of others’ vulnerability, about the all-too-often unspoken depths of the endless sea in our skulls. Through the predominant use of skeletal and macabre imagery, I show our physical insides to convey the idea of showing our emotional insides. We can find solidarity, empathy, and understanding for one another through the simple fact that we all go through hardships, even the reaper themselves. While each piece speaks to the broader human condition, it is the hope that these messages could show even one person that there are more empathetic ways of existing that are based in love instead of the greed, power, and control that maintain our present systems. I firmly believe that this shift is necessary to solve issues such as climate change, racism, sexism and more. We need to first create a foundation of compassion for each other that can only come about through finding common ground over our inner oceans.” ~Jake Kenobi
About Jake Kenobi
Jake Kenobi, working under the moniker Spring Break Jake, is on a mission to make the world more fun than he found it without shying away from the many issues facing us today. He creates illustrative abstract art with a message, putting a special focus on challenging our notions of patriarchal masculinity and reducing the stigmas around vulnerability when it comes to mental health. Best summarized by simple skulls and palm trees, he uses the juxtaposition of darker, macabre imagery with bright, tropical iconography and color palettes to encourage the viewer to embrace the good and the bad, as well as our inner and outer worlds, in the hopes of making the heavier parts of life feel conquerable. Learn more about Jake at springbreakjake.com.
Funding:
Jake Kenobi is a recipient of the Patricia Clark artist in residency program at Scalehouse.
About Scalehouse:
Scalehouse is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts center convening diverse thinkers for in-depth discussions, artistic collaborations, exhibitions and events, including Bend Design Week and Scalehouse Gallery. Scalehouse believes our shared future presents complex challenges and opportunities, not just benefiting from creativity but requiring it. We are committed to programming that’s accessible, provocative, extraordinary and inclusive — always with an eye toward a better future. Learn more at scalehouse.org.
Location:
Annex Gallery is located inside the Franklin Crossing building.
550 NW Franklin Avenue, Bend.