Gerry Baptist
Artists' Statement:
"My early years in India and background in graphics have had a lasting effect on my work. The ephemera of the media - political and trivial, comic book art, ever changing fashions and a constant curiosity in popular culture has always formed a large part of my interest.
The work I’ve completed recently has developed into a style that is raw and awkward. My concerns are to convey serious points of view as well as bringing in the frivolous through satire and humour. But in particular, I have focussed on the conspicuous consumption of today’s society.
I use whatever type of printmaking that I feel is apt for the subject I’m working on and that has led me to use screen prints, etchings and digital images."
Gerry Baptist images aren’t about the simple act of looking at something that we will either like or dislike; the artist would like us to give a little more than that. His pictures have an agenda, but they are not telling us what to think. They are inviting us into a conversation, and providing food for thought.
The new works are not ‘drawn’ as we would expect. Gerry has not smoothed over his figures or the important questions they raise; the sharp edges have been kept precisely because we ‘catch’ on them; they force us to linger and to look closer.
The titles help us to navigate through the graffiti-inspired naivety of the graphics and the bold contrasting colours. They are also Gerry’s comment on modern life, a comment asking for a response. Gerry’s perspective is not one formulated in an ivory tower. His suggestions are uncomfortable because they implicate us; they see clearly the contradictions of our consumer society. However Gerry is not afraid to turn this clarity on his own image and look in the mirror, seeing the artist who continually produces more canvases, more prints: enough to fill a gallery.
Gerry has been exhibiting for a number of years both in the UK and abroad. His work is in collections at the Ashmolean, Oxford, The Bank of England and Guildford Council. He was elected as an associate member of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers in 2008.
Prizes:
The John Purcell Prize Wrexham Print International Biennale 2007
The Hector Purchase Prize RE Annual Exhibition 2008
Centre of Fine Art Print Research UWE Prize RE Annual Exhibition 2008
Artists' Statement:
"My early years in India and background in graphics have had a lasting effect on my work. The ephemera of the media - political and trivial, comic book art, ever changing fashions and a constant curiosity in popular culture has always formed a large part of my interest.
The work I’ve completed recently has developed into a style that is raw and awkward. My concerns are to convey serious points of view as well as bringing in the frivolous through satire and humour. But in particular, I have focussed on the conspicuous consumption of today’s society.
I use whatever type of printmaking that I feel is apt for the subject I’m working on and that has led me to use screen prints, etchings and digital images."
Gerry Baptist images aren’t about the simple act of looking at something that we will either like or dislike; the artist would like us to give a little more than that. His pictures have an agenda, but they are not telling us what to think. They are inviting us into a conversation, and providing food for thought.
The new works are not ‘drawn’ as we would expect. Gerry has not smoothed over his figures or the important questions they raise; the sharp edges have been kept precisely because we ‘catch’ on them; they force us to linger and to look closer.
The titles help us to navigate through the graffiti-inspired naivety of the graphics and the bold contrasting colours. They are also Gerry’s comment on modern life, a comment asking for a response. Gerry’s perspective is not one formulated in an ivory tower. His suggestions are uncomfortable because they implicate us; they see clearly the contradictions of our consumer society. However Gerry is not afraid to turn this clarity on his own image and look in the mirror, seeing the artist who continually produces more canvases, more prints: enough to fill a gallery.
Gerry has been exhibiting for a number of years both in the UK and abroad. His work is in collections at the Ashmolean, Oxford, The Bank of England and Guildford Council. He was elected as an associate member of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers in 2008.
Prizes:
The John Purcell Prize Wrexham Print International Biennale 2007
The Hector Purchase Prize RE Annual Exhibition 2008
Centre of Fine Art Print Research UWE Prize RE Annual Exhibition 2008
Gerry Baptist editions currently
available
