alt_space: Jeff Whipple The Distinguished Speaker Series

Opening reception: Saturday November 7, 4-7pm
Artists Talk: Saturday, December 12, 11am

Jacksonville artist Jeff Whipple’s approach to his artwork has always been fused with his philosophy of living – to register, chronicle and respond to life. He uses images and words to engage viewers in imaginative observations about the “weirdness and beauty” of life. Through his artwork in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance, installation and play writing Whipple engages his viewers in a comical manner. “I arrange images to create visual metaphors that provoke interpretations.  I want viewers to discover where the images can lead them,” states Whipple.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is part of an ongoing project for Whipple.  For his alt_space exhibition he will present 2- and 3-dimensional mixed media works drawn from his visual metaphors. The works included in this series have added words that appear to be spoken by the subjects.  The words, appearing on banners that unfurl from their mouths, range from snarky to profound.  All of Whipple’s visual art includes his three-line motif created in the 1980s. This “logo” for his art initially began as a compositional element but as his career and work progressed it became a symbol of something living.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jeff Whipple works in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, video, photography and play writing. He received his BFA from Northern Illinois University in 1978, and his MFA from the University of South Florida in 1980. His art has been presented and exhibited in galleries, colleges and museums including performances at the Tampa Museum of Art, the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, the Museum of Florida Art and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. He has had 83 solo exhibitions and his work has received 48 top awards in competitions. Whipple is based in Jacksonville, Florida and teaches at the University of North Florida.