Phil Jarvis Debuts “Escape” At Fifteen Windows Gallery
Local artist Phil Jarvis’s profession takes him all over the globe – he just returned from a gig doing sign work at a tattoo parlor in Prague – but this weekend, he gets to display his personal artwork here in St. Louis at Fifteen Windows Gallery on Cherokee Street.
“Escape,” Jarvis’s latest solo exhibition, consists of sixteen new drawings and six paintings that depart from his day-to-day work as a muralist and sign painter. You’ve probably seen his work all over St. Louis; throw a rock and you may hit a Jarvis creation. Jarvis’s eclectic sign work and murals have been commissioned by the likes of Anheuser-Busch, restaurants such as Frazer’s, Stacked, and Sauce and the Side, plus multiple tattoo parlors and other area businesses. His work has also been featured in St. Louis Magazine, Sauce Magazine, and Ladue News.
Jarvis’s talents have also extended his reach beyond the St. Louis area, sending him to twenty-three states and outside the United States, to countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Czechia, and Colombia. His elegant lettering and bright designs have brought his work to the forefront of countless businesses.
The past year and a half, Jarvis has been working on “Escape”. The series has given him a pause from commercial work and a chance to get back to the basics of fine art, while intertwining the skills practiced in his profession. The images explore space, line, rhythm, value, and harmony in black and white and full color.
“I have no idea where the work comes from, it starts as a scribble. Like a Rorschach painting, developing an inkblot and seeing where it goes,” Jarvis says of his work. “Escape” echoes this, with mind-bending geometric shapes and surprising colors that twist the eye of the viewer. The work also affords Jarvis the space for more personal reflection.
“My work often turns into something I don’t realize how it relates to my life until years later. I’ll subconsciously put something into my paintings and realize later that it was a part of what I was dealing with at the time,” Jarvis says.
The opening of “Escape” will be at Fifteen Windows Gallery (3155 Cherokee St., St. Louis MO 63118) this Saturday, March 15th from 6 to 10 p.m. The exhibition will remain through April 12th. Pieces will be available for purchase at the opening reception and through the end date of the exhibition. For more information on Phil Jarvis, visit http://www.philjarvispainting.com
All photos of work provided by the artist
