ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Eastburn’s paintings examine the deluge of information that we are confronted with as a result of the digital technology which dominates every aspect of modern life. The information and imagery depicted in the works is intentionally disparate and seemingly random, allowing the viewer to invent their own narrative for the work.

The point of the work is that there is no correct way of reading of it, but instead, presents a cacophony of information that the viewer must make sense of or disregard, similar to how a person can scroll through a news or social media feed and be presented with nonstop and unrelated information and must in some way process it all. Though at first glance the works may appear as if they were created digitally–with a kind of mechanical precision and subversion of the hand of the artist, they are drawn out and painted entirely by hand in a bid to imbue the digital age with a bit of humanity.

Jess Eastburn is a professional artist currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area, though they originally hail from Oregon. They received their BA in Liberal Studies from Portland State University and their MFA in Pictorial Art from San Jose State University. Jess’s studio practice primarily consists of drawing and painting, though they occasionally works in public art, small sculpture, plywood shaped paintings, animation, and shadow theater.

Jess has previously been an artist-in residence at Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA), and they were formerly the Young Artist Fellow at Gallery Route One (Point Reyes Station, CA), their work has been exhibited throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Oregon, Indiana, Illinois, and Arkansas. When not making art, they work as an Associate Teaching Professor in Studio Art at Santa Clara University.