Jeffrey Spencer Hargrave, "Red Matisse," 2014.
Escape Route: Paintings and Drawings by Jeffrey Spencer Hargrave will present a selection of works by the New York based artist created from 2011 to 2014 that deal with issues related to race, religion and sexuality. Since 1998 Hargrave has produced a compelling, deeply personal body of work incorporating painting, drawing, sculpture and video that explore the dynamics between race, sexuality and religion in relation to his upbringing in the south and early adulthood as an African American gay male coming to terms with racial and sexual identity.
“Jeffrey Hargrave’s work taps into his own memories of growing up in the midst of a sharply divided community. Hargrave translates his personal experiences into playful, yet biting images that mix art-history clichés and racial stereotypes. Ultimately, the artist seeks to engage the viewer in a dialogue on class and privilege based on a repertoire of familiar images.” - Bronx Museum Director of Curatorial and Education Programs, Sergio Bessa
Escape Route is organized by guest curator Isaac Aden.
About Jeffrey Spencer Hargrave
Jeffrey Spencer Hargrave attended the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, Rhode Island School of Design and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Hargrave has exhibited with Tricia Collins Contemporary Art, Art in General, Mitchell Algus Gallery, Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, and other prestigious venues in the U.S. and abroad. In 2009 Hargrave participated in the Bronx Museum’s Artist in the Marketplace program and in 2014, one of his images was used for a stamp, produced in Denmark">Denmark" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4216">Denmark" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4216">Denmark by Artstamp.dk. His work is represented by Phatory Gallery, New York, Contemporary Art and Editions, New Jersey, and Stalke Galleria, Denmark">Denmark" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4216">Denmark" href="index.php?page=artist_id&id=4216">Denmark. He currently resides in New York City.
