About Drew Griffiths
Drew Griffiths sets his paintings on fire, layering colors and wax atop one another before burning it to produce the textures and depth seen in the finished piece. His works push audiences to look deeper, begs them to touch, to examine, to discuss what is burrowed deep within. Art becomes actively participatory, eschewing the norms of simple looking and challenging inner thoughts to pour out in the form of discussion and action. Viewers reflect on society, the economy, the environment, technological dependence, and cosmetic materialism. The use of bold color hints at his early inspirations of comics, books, and graphic novels, which illicit such tones for high emotionality. While earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, he experimented with visual arts, modifying the traditional method of encaustics, which birthed the techniques he employs in his pieces. His work has been shown in New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, and is also in private collections across the country.
New Brunswick Art Salon 2021 – Oil and Mixed Media : “Bonds Beyond Time”
Artist Personal Website: https://www.drewgriffithsart.com/
Email: drewgriff78@gmail.com
Artist Statement
My art uses color, texture, depth, and mixed media and to connect with the subconscious of the viewer. Paintings are created over time by carefully layering colors and wax that is then burned or “set on fire” to build texture and depth pushing the audience to look deeper. It is a tactile experience. Work that longs to be touched, examined, discussed because of what is just beneath the surface. This eschews the norms of a gallery and helps the audience become participatory in the art itself. The composition appears simple and allows the viewer to access emotions built on their personal experiences and expectations from primary colors and shapes but with contemplation, a bridge to a deeper and more contemplative experience with subtle strokes of texture and paint forces the individual to consider how this art represents the current climate of our society, relationships to technology, and our desire for beauty through materialism.
Exhibitions
Atlantic City, NJ – Arts Garage – 2020
Princeton NJ, Arts Council of Princeton – 2020 (Covid Suspended)
Jersey City, NJ – Snapdragon Gallery – 2021
New Brunswick, NJ – Alfa Art Gallery – 2021