About the artist
Symbolist painter Jason E. McPhillips creates enigmatic images inspired by the intersection of myth, perception, and scientific theory. Beginning his career as an aspiring filmmaker, he found himself called to drawing, painting, and sculpture while visualizing his short films. His passion for figurative subjects led him to continue his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Concentrating on artistic anatomy, landscape, and the illusionistic methods of the renaissance, he developed his aesthetic through a close study of nature. He launched his painting career in 2003, with a project entitled “Travelogue”. Painting and journaling daily, he traversed twenty-five states, exploring without and within. He exhibited the paintings alongside journal excerpts and musings on his experiences. Landscape remains at the core of his practice.
Between 2013 and 2017, Jason worked closely with Galerie Fledermaus in Chicago as Artist Liaison, drawing inspiration from fin de siècle masterworks in the gallery's holdings. He has exhibited nationally, placing work in many prestigious private collections. McPhillips’ most recent works employ metal leaf and relief effects such as pastiglia and sgraffito, exploring the tension between illusionistic space and decorative effect. Much like the gold leaf in a Russian icon, the gilded surfaces evoke the idea of divine light, inspiration, and alchemy.
