SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
SOLO EXHIBITION
The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
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The World's Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
Jared
Trask
CANADA
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“My works follow my personal journey of recovery from addiction through the past year while rediscovering myself and Newfoundland’s natural beauty.”
Closing my eyes, I can still vividly recall the first time my grandfather taught me to paint. The sole light in the basement, a dimly lit chocolate-brown, fluorescent lamp, stained with blotches every imaginable colour, like little jigsaw pieces flickered in a slow rhythmic pattern. The dreary accompanist for the ever-present faint whirr of its electrical circuits, worn out from watching a lifetime of creative symphonies. The comforting scent of yellowed and tattered sketch books, old photographs, and the stereotypical array of Canadian and Newfoundland calendars, depicting all manners of wilderness, landscape, and natural beauty, mixed with the lingering smell of forgotten pages, newly unturned in search of inspiration. Few were from recent years, as we often joked, saying that other than my younger brother I was the “newest” thing in the room.
During a time of little direction and darkness in my life, this piece was fashioned from an old rudder, recycled glass containers and dried and preserved local NFLD fauna and flora to remind us all its is never too late to steer your ship around and sail the towards the guiding lights.
Perhaps what stays with me most was the way the paint stuck to my fingers, my hands collecting stains like tiny colourful passport stamps, each marking a different destination; a journey that had a lasting impact. This seemingly insignificant physical interaction starting with the paint on my hands, its remnants evading washing by hiding underneath my fingernails for days after had unknowingly created a lasting effect, sowing the seeds for my personal journey I had no idea lay ahead.
Although Rugged Point Lighthouse is fictional, it captures the raw beauty of the landscape that could be just about any point in Newfoundland. Combining techniques of sculpting, traditional painting and found objects art into a unique blend!
That was over 15 years ago. I am now 26 years old, an artist, musician, jack-of-all-trades, and master of none. A long-time (and probably lifetime) student, I received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology specializing in Behavioural Neuroscience from Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s Campus before pursuing my Master’s in the same field. My current research project involves the examining the impact of environmental enrichment on intergenerational preconception stress.
My works follow my personal journey of recovery from addiction through the past year while rediscovering myself and Newfoundland’s natural beauty.
I live in Holyrood, Newfoundland, Canada. Look it up. It’s that little, tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, known for the friendliest people, probably Rick Mercer and the breathtaking scenery. I would say to come and visit… but with everything going on, well you can imagine it could be a while.
Exquisitely curious, a lover of all thing’s science and nature, I prefer to use atypical, either natural (water, dried/preserved plants, grasses and mosses, rocks) mediums combining them with found, old and refurbished objects such as glass containers, driftwood or whatever I can get my hands on.
Surrounded by beauty that changes with the seasons and subjected to the many forces of nature, the subject of my art focuses primarily on scale representations of Newfoundland’s natural landscape, geographical features, and history but also on physical representations of non-physical subject matters as well. My artistic style incorporates a wide variety of hands-on techniques incorporating aspects of woodworking, found objects art, sculpting, acrylic painting and design culminating into a unique blend that does not fit one category all that well.
While walking through the forest a short distance from my home I picked up an old hallowed out log to form the base of this cleverly named piece. Natural wood, moss, and a myriad of found objects amalgamate into an illuminated woodland scene.
I have decided to list selected pieces for sale as $1 or pay by donation, meaning you get to pay whatever price you believe the work to be worth.
Strict geometry created from interlocking sticks, an old lightbulb and countless pieces of moss combine to create an ethereal naturalistic lamp or Shady Grove.
Exquisitely curious, a lover of all thing’s science and nature, I prefer to use atypical, either natural (water, dried/preserved plants, grasses and mosses, rocks) mediums combining them with found, old and refurbished objects such as glass containers, driftwood or whatever I can get my hands on. My creative process usually begins with an inspirational phase where I draw on anything from a memory of a scene to old family photographs and of course, my own personal, ever-so-slowly-growing stack of old calendars and books. Although I am always on the lookout for interesting and unusual materials to use, once I have identified the newest project/work, I focus on gathering and finding the necessary materials to go from the visualization in my head to actual physical representation. This varies from depending on the work but involves collecting natural materials from a wide variety of local sources and then transporting them back to my workshop to be cleaned, preserved, cut, etc., for future use.
As the leaves turned brilliant red to tawny brown, followed by a distinctly golden hue, only to fall away and decay, I couldn’t help but be filled with a certain air of impressionism to design this eloquent three-dimensional piece.
For several reasons, I have decided to list the selected pieces for sale as $1 or pay by donation meaning you get to pay whatever price you believe the work to be worth. First, I cannot begin to measure or put a dollar figure to the time spent planning, collecting, cleaning, and preparing all my materials even before any real artistic work was performed. Additionally, I cannot begin to quantify the value of my own personal reclamation. However, in the case of the installation pieces, only prints will be sold and prices are adjusted to include printing fees due to the nature of those pieces being temporary and the fact the frames used to build the installation themselves have subsequently been claimed by the sea never to be seen again (for more information on pricing and the full story, see my website linked below).
Although winter in Newfoundland usually means tons of snow, an unusually mild winter and a green Christmas inspired this twinkling bountiful bin featuring local grasses and shrubbery.
If you would like to see more of my other projects and works for sale, learn more about me or the specifics of each project inquire or even request a custom work from a picture please feel free to check out my website: www.thenewfoundlandnaturalist.com.
My ode to the Holidays with all the festive glam. Complete with lights, fully bedazzled, bejeweled, and a glittering poinsettia are sure to catch a gleam in your eye.
My artistic style incorporates a wide variety of hands-on techniques.
Occasionally we should all try and put things in perspective. However, reflecting on the past can be dangerous, especially so with towering cliffs of ice overhead. Medium for sale: Print on metal or canvas.
If you have an idea for a project, want a print or another format, something in a specific size or even want to collaborate I am always happy to help, accommodate and am up for anything so do not hesitate to reach out.
Happenstance natural beauty I managed to capture while completing my ice cliff installation. The water trickled down the cavern walls to be stopped in its tracks by a flash freeze overnight, the cave, Encased, in ice. Medium for sale: Print on metal or canvas.
Kind regards from me to wherever you are!
One of many beautiful pictures from my winter ice cliff installation. I constructed a small wooden frame, collected slab-like rocks, lugged them all the way down to the beach to where it was placed underneath the frigid stream running-off the cliffs and waited for the beauty to form.