27 Jan Stephenson Showcase: Jerry Mannell’s “Transtangentialism”
Jerry Mannell’s art is open to interpretation by the viewer—and that’s just the way he likes it.
In Jerry’s work, a lot of things about composition, color, and line are tangential to each other. They relate, but not in a direct way and the overall the mood or message in the canvas is transitional as all those elements form into something that engages the viewer.
“I use modeled shapes, I try to relate color instead of using the natural world as a basis, it’s all out of my head, representing the world around me. My work is made up of plastic shapes and mechanical gadgets and out of context, no one knows what they are, but they are all around us. I’m not saying that I’m painting that, but that is what inspires me to some extent. When you have models or representational shapes, even if [they’re] not found in the real world, if they are rendered as such, they invite interpretation and engagement.”
Jerry was a fine arts major, but he found a home in advertising and graphic design. “Graphic design work has pushed me in a certain direction—creating a logo, you don’t want it to be literal, it’s something abstract.”
In Jerry’s work, everything is self-contained, a stand-alone shape or group of shapes, and he incorporates a lot of movement as well. “You want the eye to move in a Z shape in advertising. You can make the eye move from one side of the canvas to the other and relate that to color on the lower right-hand side. The eye keeps on moving in terms of shapes and color, and that’s all in the composition. I have my own repertoire of shapes. [For example] anything that is triangular and green is reminiscent of nature and growth. Whether or not people see that shape as representation of nature, there is still something they will connect with there. I like to keep ambiguity so these interpretations [allow viewers to] engage with the art instead of just admiring it.”
See Jerry Mannell’s full exhibit “Transtangentialism” in the Stephenson House Wednesday-Friday 12–5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Meet Jerry at his free public reception on February 21, 2023 from 6-9 p.m.
