the artist

Jesse Gardner

Jesse Gardner

Philadelphia, PA

Jesse Gardner

http://www.jesse-gardner.pixels.com

The three (3) paintings that the Pennsylvania Convention Center acquired are part of an ongoing series documenting the tattered streets of Philadelphia's River Wards. Water towers, old factory buildings, abandoned civic buildings all speak to a world that was; a lost Philadelphia.  Gardner seeks out these under-appreciated and overlooked sites as subjects for his urban landscapes.  The underlying narrative in the paintings is one of restoration and transformation; a redemption of the forgotten and discarded.  This redemption occurs in the moments just before twilight turns into night, as light and darkness struggle for ascendency.  The paintings bear witness to this struggle, and deliberately portray a juxtaposition of the mundane built environment with the sacred light of a transcendent sky.

Fast Facts

Name: Jesse J. Gardner

Website: http://jesse-gardner.pixels.com/

Place of Birth: Madison, Wisconsin

Education:
Art Student's League, 1980-85  Parson's School of Design, 1985-88

Significant or special training:
Blacksmith and Certified Welder

Notable or memorable instructors or mentors:
Thomas Fogarty and Robert Beverly Hale (Drawing and Anatomy), Paul Chaleff (Ceramics)

Particular field of study or class work:
Life Drawing, Portraiture, Landscape Painting.

Major influences/admired artists:
Valasquez, Rembrandt, NC Wyeth, Whistler, Edward Hopper

Favorite materials or media:
Oil on wood panel

School or university affiliation (when Convention Center acquired artwork):
F.A.N. Gallery

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