On the margins: An On the wall experience
January 25 - February 23, 2019
mainspace @ artspace
Northwest Louisiana artists Ben Moss and Jeromie Journell have been chosen to take on the walls of artspace in the On The Wall exhibiton. This is the 2nd exhibition where artists are painting large-scale artworks directly on the wall of the mainspace floor of artspace at 801 Texas St. in downtown Shreveport. The public can watch Journell and Moss create the "On the Wall" experience while dining at Parish Taceaux beginning January 14, 2019.
“On the Margins” promises to be a fusion of these two popular Northwest Louisiana artists’ styles. Moss describes his art for this exhibition as comics and chaotic doodling such as you might have found in the actual margins of his middle school notebooks—crazy monsters, chaotic geometry and juvenile humor. He says the show will be a, “sort of love letter to the wild creativity of my middle-school-age imagination.”
Journell says he has also drawn inspiration for “On the Margins,” from his early interests in creating visual art rather than paying attention to what was going on in the classroom. “My vision for this exhibition consists of the use of both iconic and obscure images to create an odd collage of sorts from a distorted child’s book,” say Journell.
The name of the exhibition, "On the Margins" literally refers to Moss’ middle-school notebook doodling, but also to the off-the-beaten-path things that inspire Journell, such as strange found objects. It refers to the place where Jeormie and Moss say they fall on the art world spectrum—a bit to the left of mainstream gallery fare and maybe even somewhat idiosyncratic and odd.
Exhibiting artist: Jeromie JOurnell
I was born in 1974 in Las Vegas, Nevada, but grew up outside of New Orleans in Westwego, Louisiana. My family moved to Panola, Texas in 1988 and as there was not much to do in Northeast Texas, I began drawing as a form of entertainment. In 1995 I moved to Austin, Texas where I began painting on my own in 1997. I had numerous odd jobs and went to the local community college until, April of 2000 when I was hired as a printers assistant. Since then, I have been employed as a screen printer, and this experience has helped further my understanding of design, color theory, and the artistic process. I kept painting after work and entered numerous gallery exhibitions (including a solo exhibition at Spider House) until it was time to move on. I moved to Shreveport at the beginning of 2010. I spent the first year preparing for my first solo exhibition (outside of a coffee shop) entitled "Dupe" in January 2011. A few days later, I got married. A few months later, I bought my first home. A few years later I now have a healthy baby girl named Louisa. I continue to seek out artistic opportunities that northwest Louisiana.
Exhibiting Artist:
J. Ben Moss
J. Ben Moss lives and works in Shreveport, Louisiana. He has exhibited in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas as well as Chicago and Atlanta. He received his BA from Northwestern State University and is perpetually one thesis hour from his MLA at Louisiana State University Shreveport.
In addition to his fine art and mural work, he is an illustrator and periodic contributor to specialty zines, art magazines, and comics.
More examples of Mr. Moss’s paintings and illustration work can be found at jbenmoss.com and instagram.com/ploid_art
