Jerry Kearns. Hearsay.

About

Kearns’ paintings engage in a dialogue of internal yet interconnected monologues. Their frames unravel like film. The viewer catches snippets—little glimpses into the individuals’ thoughts—but they sound fragmentary, far away, like overheard conversations in a crowded bar. The cacophony of voices melds into screen noise.

Divided along gender lines, the figures reproduce these misunderstandings in exchanges with the figures opposite them as if straining to hear one another over their own thoughts. Though each monologue can be read independently, they also function as reactions to some perceived other, whether real or internalized. Kearns playfully deconstructs these binaries, often modeling his female figures on stereotypically masculine icons such as cowboys and vice versa. Ultimately, all the characters share similar wants and needs.

The artist examines the dialectical relationship between media and reality by inserting pop culture icons into scenes with anonymous figures and his own loved ones. By poking fun at our para-social bonds with celebrities, Kearns exposes how the expectations we project onto others are shaped by our imaginary relationships to simulacra. The artist mirrors this problematic in his pastiche depiction of everyday people.

HEARSAY asks what would happen if we tried to see past the noise and really listened to each other. In doing so, Kearns invites the viewer to free associate and form connections—to engage in not just a monologue or dialogue but a conversation with the world around them.