Jacksonville Jazz Festival 2022 Commemorative Poster

From the Artist: Chris Clark

“I have always loved Jazz music. I remember my dad who’s a bass player, taking me to a Jazz club when I was a teenager. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Me being a young musician, I was blown away by the creativity and musicianship of these artists. I remember they were playing improv, so they would just hop on stage randomly and join along with the music being played. I paint in a similar way. I want my art to be free flowing, spontaneous, and filled with passion just like what I witnessed that day. Thinking back to when I was a young man is what inspired the artwork for this poster. It features an illustration of a talented young musician I had the pleasure of meeting when his family visited my art studio. He’s a 17 year old saxophonist who has aspirations of becoming a professional Jazz musician one day. We really connected when discussing music and I saw a young version of myself in him. I was inspired by him to create a vision of what I want to see in the future and that’s youth like him following their passion for the arts.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Chris Clark is a self-taught visual artist, illustrator, and muralist living and working in Jacksonville, FL. Art, to him, is a form of journalism. Using acrylic, oil, ink, and spray paint, he explores the rich culture and history of the Black community across the diaspora and the social issues affecting them today. For Clark, reflecting the human figure is very powerful, which is why he uses graphic-style portraiture and figurative works to depict Black life in America through his personal lens of a Black man, husband, and father. At the core of his work is the notion that representation matters. As the artist explains, “By telling my story, I want to help the viewer rediscover theirs.”

Clark’s artwork has been shown in exhibitions around the U.S. and abroad, including “21 Piece Salute: A Salute to the Ancestors Who Lost Their Lives in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre” at the black Wall Street Gallery in New York, NY, and “Through Our Eyes: Journey to South Africa” at the nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He has received multiple art awards and grants for his work. Clark was chosen to participate in the House of Sedulo Artist Residency in London, UK and the Chateau Orquevaux Artist Residency in Champagne-Ardenne, France in 2022-2023. Most recently he completed his first artist fellowship the DEAR (Digital Evolution Artist Retention) fellowship through the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute in New York, New York.

Want your own copy of the poster? Order signed & numbered or unsigned posters at store.jacksonvillejazzfest.com for pick-up at the Official Jacksonville Jazz Festival Store.

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