- November 19, 2024
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DAYTONA BEACH — Palm Coast painter and curator J.J. Graham has spent most of the time since he opened Hollingsworth Gallery in 2009 showcasing the artwork of others. But this month, the Rose Room Gallery at the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, will be showcasing his work.
“I like movement and color,” Graham said while standing outside his gallery in City Marketplace, having just put the finishing touches on a piece for the show. “I think a lot of the way to read the painting is to look at the paint much the way that you would look at music. Sometimes there a bit of a jazz band going and, sometimes, there’s old-school punk. I translate my work into energy. A lot of times, I’m thinking about so many things — running a business — and so if there is a theme, it has to come naturally and spontaneously.”
Graham’s work is influenced by expressionism, a modernist movement, sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality. Rooted in indigenous folk art of his home state of Mississippi, Graham’s paintings are mixed with an appreciation for contemporary and classical painting. Growing up with a Pentecostal preacher father, Graham said Bible stories are embedded in him and religious overtones or undertones often show up in his work.
“Sometimes it is part of those things that I’m hanging on to or some of them that I feel like have gotten in the way and I’m getting rid of,” he said.
While the figure is a prevalent feature in Graham’s paintings, he said the expressionist in him wants to make sure the finished product reflects the process.
“I want it to look like paint on the surface,” he said. “I want it to crawl and drip and have rhythm and morph into things and be exciting in that way.”
Rose Room Gallery curator Mary McBride said it’s that kind of fun in Graham’s work which led her to wanting to show more of it.
The show will focus on paintings Graham has created from 2011 to 2014, focusing on his progression through the years.
“There is a mixture of things — you can tell in that span when I was at peace and when there was a tempest,” he said. “A lot has happened in that time.”
If you go: J.J. Graham Paintings 2011-2014
When: Opening reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13; gallery hours 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The show will hang though March 3
Where: Rose Room Gallery, Peabody Auditorium, 600 Auditorium Blvd., Daytona Beach
