Name: JT Thompson
Statement: I am currently working in a style I call Geometric Surrealism. This style explores the use of multiple views of spaces and corridors, using varied light sources to create spatial depth in abstract compositions. My work is inspired by the tension between certain dualities: the conscious and subconscious, light and dark. As an abstract artist, I am philosophically interested in the subjectivity of the mind, and it's capacity for skewing perspectives of external events or the physical world. In this approach, the design is pared back to its basic building blocks, simplified and abstracted to produce a contemporary composition of geometric shapes and planes with graphic over-tones. This challenging framework offers the viewer a fragmented suggestion of space and perspective that seems both mechanical and architectural. Perspective is played with through overlapping layers and scale, simultaneously creating an illusion of spatial extent, and breaking it. In breaking a painting down into compartmentalized units of color, stripped of all extraneous detail, the composition becomes open to interpretation. My paintings donÕt offer a representation of reality, but an idea of it. The shifting physical spaces mirror the shifting interplay between the varied psychological perspectives of the viewer's mind; stairways and corridors appear and disappear, a metaphor for the challenges that arise in seeking a path aligned with your higher self, a struggle sometimes shadowed by hidden aspects of the psyche that are not readily shared or easily understood.
The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority today owns the largest contemporary collection of local art in central Ohio. All of the pieces are on display in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Hilton Columbus Downtown and the three Convention Center parking garages. The collection is the result of a communitywide call for art, overseen by a committee of community members and implemented by collection curators James and Michael Reese of Reese Brothers Productions. The artists represent the diversity of the Columbus community, cutting across age, gender and race.
Made: 2016
Installed: 2016
Near C 162
400 N. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Franklin County
Venue Website
Oil on canvas
Please note: The Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council) does not own or manage any public art. For the purposes of this database many pieces were entered by the Arts Council while we continue to search for the appropriate owner/manager of the work and other information to complete the entry. The Arts Council has tried to gather all available information about the works in this database, however, we acknowledge there may be missing or inaccurate information. If you can help us correct any inaccuracies, or provide more complete information, we would be grateful. Please use “Something missing? Please send us a note” above.
Taking images of public art works and sharing your experiences is one of the most fun reasons to engage with public art. As a community, we care deeply about the artists who have contributed the artworks we enjoy every day. Please be sure to credit artists when you share your photos. If you have an interest in using public artwork present in this database for commercial purposes, please contact Jami Goldstein at the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Taking your own images of public artwork does not release you from the responsibility of artist credit and/or compensation.
This site is produced and managed by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and supported by the Ohio Arts Council and public art collections across the state. Contributors to the databases to date include collections held by the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, City of Columbus, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Dublin Arts Council, City of Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Department, City of Kettering, Downtown Mansfield Inc., Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Licking County Foundation, Ohio Arts Council’s Percent for Art program, Short North Arts District and the City of Sandusky. The database was funded in part by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Research and development support is provided by Designing Local, OSA Technology Partners and Columbus artist Stephanie Rond. The Columbus Makes Art campaign is a citywide, collaborative marketing effort designed to highlight the incredible talent of central Ohio artists. The Greater Columbus Arts Council is supported by the City of Columbus and the Ohio Arts Council.
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