I Am the River Now
Acrylic Collage on Wood

V. Mann

Jason V. Mann's acrylic collage paintings are a documentation of his attempt to express himself and his attitude, his joy and appreciation, his relationship to the past and others, and his purpose. Mann's paintings are landscapes for the viewer to enter and explore, decoding the meanings behind combinations of clippings and colors, challenging them to understand the association between juxtaposed elements and phrases. He is motivated by the challenge of defining areas of vast space, and the struggle to express his most inner thoughts and ideas to the viewer.

Three Years, Three Months, and Three Days, references the duration of the traditional Eastern spiritual retreat, and is the culmination of the work created since returning to the artist’s old family farm. Using as a studio the upstairs room that once belonged to Mann’s great-great-grandmother, Ida Bell Justice Porter, wife of W. S. Porter, Three Years, Three Months and Three Days started to materialize after much contemplation. “I took everything out of the room and painted the walls and ceiling white,” said Mann. “It is very quiet there, and the early morning light from the rising sun pours through the windows, illuminating the room like crystal. “That light is wonderful to work in. I wondered, as I stare out the window at the crows, what is this day, what is this life, where am I going and where have I been? And that is when Three Years, Three Months and Three Days started to come together.” “These new pieces are full of vibrant color and strong imagery, peaceful yet sharp, as I peer down a long line, searching for the end or the beginning but neither is in sight. The paintings are landscapes for the viewer to enter and explore, decoding the meanings behind combinations of clippings and colors, challenging them to understand the associations of the juxtaposed elements and phrases,” he said. “I am motivated by the challenge of defining areas of vast space, and the struggle to express my most inner thoughts and ideas to the viewer.” Along with Mann’s mixed media paintings appears the prose of his wife, local musician Sarah E. Mann. The show marks their first collaboration of this type. “Sarah has kept journals that spanned our entire Kentucky adventure, and we realized they perfectly narrated the paintings, her words complete the pictures in a way I would never have thought of,” he said.