Jeff Elrod

About

Recognised for his large-format abstract paintings concerned with the relationship between hand-painted and digitally created mark-making, for this exhibition Elrod has created a series
of hybrid images that incorporate analogue techniques into his continued experiments in digital and print technology.
The expansive and visually-engaging paintings presented across two floors navigate fluidly between the various modes and techniques that have come to characterise his practice. Since the early 1990s, Elrod has employed digital manipulation to create abstract art. Treating the computer mouse as an extension of the paint brush or
pencil, his works are first developed digitally using programmes such as Illustrator and Photoshop. Perfecting his computer-based technique into what he calls “frictionless drawing”, blue monochromatic works on display demonstrate how these abstract and vector-like gestures are meticulously transposed onto canvas using acrylic,
tape, UV ink and spray paint. In some paintings the letters ‘ESP’ - a recurring motif or tag in his work - float in and out of vision, referencing at once the subconscious doodles of the artist’s hand as well as a literal abbreviation of ‘Extra Sensory Perception’.
In other works, the above process is further complicated by the introduction of a layer of “stock” abstract imagery scavenged from the floor of his Marfa studio, which is then altered and embellished in Photoshop and by hand. In these paintings Elrod explores more complex and layered ways of generating the space of his paintings, with the
boundaries between background and foreground becoming increasingly obscured. His recent paintings are often made by printing reworked digitised imagery directly onto canvas via inkjet printer. The ambiguity between screen and canvas is expressed through the juxtaposition of digital marks that convey the impression of a computer screen
alongside more obvious signs of handmade techniques and gestures, such as sprayed paint.