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Elefant Medium
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
PDX CONTEMPORARY ART is pleased to present Elefant Medium. A solo exhibition of new work by artist Jeffry Mitchell.
Elephant (Medium) is one of a family of fonts and is a reworking of a traditional English extra bold serif style. Mitchell is drawn to its eye-catching style and graphic quality, as well as to its name. The elephant has been a beloved subject matter for Jeffry Mitchell’s artwork for four decades.
The exhibition focuses on the way that graphic design and interior spaces create space, fields that make us feel. As well as the way that subject matter and materials, like elephants and flowers, clay and wood, afford joy, generosity, and enthusiasm. Elefant Medium features furniture made from wood and ceramic, housewares, lamps, and drawings and prints displayed in wonderfully elaborate, handcrafted wooden and porcelain frames. The work and the transformative benevolence of craft create the field, the flow, the space, and the possibility of ecstasy.
Jeffry Mitchell’s primary medium is ceramic, and he is well versed in its varied traditions around the globe. His approach to working is direct, often eschewing refinements that commonly accompany many ceramic processes. The resulting pieces radiate an exuberant, unbridled immediacy. He feels that this unfettered approach is relatable to our shared human experience. The imagery that he uses is also very accessible. Bears, elefants (he prefers ‘f’ to ‘ph’), bunnies, and flowers appear over and over in his work and though they relate to his own personal story he feels that these too spring from an early and universally familiar place. Mitchell seeks to tap into and broadcast a sense of vitality whether it be joyful or colored with a more complex mix of emotions.