Untitled 204, 2012 by Jason Brinkerhoff

"Untitled 204" 2012 by Jason Brinkerhoff

Graphite, conte crayon, colored pencil, wax pastel and ink on paper

Measurements: 9 13/16" x 7 7/16" (framed 13" by 10 1/2")

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For a brief but intense period of art making between 2009 and 2018, artist Jason Brinkerhoff produced upwards of 1200 drawings of women. Abstract iterations of the collected visual ephemera and found photography that informed and inspired his work, his drawings are an exhaustive exploration of the female form, art historical allusions and the nuanced materiality of mark making itself. Employing diverse materials, Brinkerhoff captured not only the seduction latent in select poses, but also the sensuality of dynamic line work in graphite, ink, colored pencil, wax pastel and acrylic. Deliberate though restrained references to artists like Picasso and Kandinsky are balanced by a use of line, color and texture that are exclusively his own. Yet there’s a sense of mystery latent in this work. Are these drawings from the past or present? Who are they meant to represent? This ambiguity is further heightened by Brinkerhoff’s own assertion that his drawings were, in some cases, “unfinished.” A visit to his studio often meant encountering piles of work suspended in this undefined state, representing drawings not as single objects but instead drawing as an ongoing act, one in which any single fragment could be further marked upon, erased, cut or cannibalized. Sadly, this unique creative process was itself cut short and, one might say, left unfinished by Jason’s own untimely death in 2020 after a prolonged fight with brain cancer.

Brinkerhoff (b. 1974, d. 2020) lived and worked in Menlo Park, California. His drawings and paintings were featured in exhibitions at Acme Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), Zieher Smith (New York, NY), White Columns (New York, NY) and Ampersand Gallery (Portland, OR). His conceptual efforts as a collector of printed ephemera and found snapshots are featured in the book HEAD FAKE, while a selection of his drawings is presented in Unfinished Drawing, both of which were published by Ampersand Editions in 2013 and 2014. His work is presented at Phloem Studio in collaboration with Ampersand Gallery, now located and open by appointment in Hood River.