In the mixed-media works of Jason Craighead, drawing, painting and writing are fused together seamlessly. The surprising compositions and a fragile balance between the frantic pencil marks, large areas of colour and the opposites of soft washes of white paired with deep black bring tension and drama on the canvas.
Chance is instrumental in Craighead’s artistic process. Before the blank canvas is pinned to the studio wall it is deliberately left on the studio floor to absorb dropped paint and spillage, along with other marks as he moves around his studio working on other paintings. The artist’s movement becomes the ongoing interaction with the painting, which gradually adds attributes to it. Torn pages alongside scribbles and written passages here and there on the canvases derive from literature, music and poetry close to him. Craighead has also shown a more minimalistic side, whereas later works have a certain restless quality to them. They, however, retain the familiar elements; the partially exposed canvas, ultramarine blue, warm reds and the opposites of black and white as well as a strong sense of movement, all of which tie the pieces together.
Although the pieces are filled with seemingly random lines and colours, they are balanced compositions, turning the activity into shared visual stories. Besides being, in a way, a participant in the act of art, Craighead believes the artist encourages the viewer to take part in a conversation. To gaze the work is to experience something personal. The act of observation is deliberately free; the artist provides an emotion, an invitation, which translates to a shared experience. “We are being creative, thoughtful creatures”, states Craighead. “My work is an invitation to an unknown conversation.”
Craighead has studied at the Florida State University, Art program, and Gulf Coast Community College. His works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the United States and in 2018 a solo museum exhibition by him was held at the Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh. Craighead’s works are in the collections of City of Raleigh, USA, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. and Hunter Industries, among others.
