My work depicts my mixed heritage of African American and Native American. Raised by my grandfather in the housing projects of Pocatello, Idaho, the images reflect the challenges in this community close to nature and art.
My paintings are layers of personal stories with undertones of political issues, both past and present. Using large blocks of intense color as the underlying surface of the paintings, I am able to paint symbolic gestures and figurative forms on the canvas, allowing the bright color to bleed through.
As I go through maturation in my life, I have become more interested in tribal systems and how they relate to contemporary life. I am also interested in the mystic symbolism of indigenous cultures. Each painting is a narrative relating to my family history and the Native American and African American in our culture.
Jerry Quenton
November 2016