Special to 1812Blockhouse
The voice of the heartland, John Mellencamp, brings his mixed-media exhibition Paintings & Assemblages to The Mansfield Art Center. A Grammy Award winner and member of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Mellencamp is also an accomplished painter, collector, and activist. Paintings & Assemblages documents America’s heart and soul, exposing unsettling, but beautiful truths with an attitude of defiance, and narrative sensibility.
As his musical career flourished, Mellencamp began to paint earnestly in the 1980’s. His affinity for portraiture, influenced by the works of Otto Dix and Max Beckmann, shares a kinship with German Expressionism of the early twentieth century. Like his music, Mellencamp’s paintings are carefully composed through the structural requirements of harmony, rhythm, and order. His large-scale oil portraits and mixed-media pieces examine subjects that speak to the viewer with a voice as powerful as his songs.
He has exhibited his work in galleries and museums across the United States including: The Butler Institute of American Art- Yougstown, OH; The Tennesse State Museum- Nashville,TN; The Museum of Art- Deland, FL; ACA Galleries- NY; and The Morris Museum of Art- Augusta, GA.
The Mansfield Art Center will be showcasing a full collection of Mellencamp’s work, including recent paintings, in the Elizabeth T. Black Gallery from June 26-through August 7.
An Opening Reception is scheduled for Sunday, June 26, featuring food trucks and craft beer from The Phoenix Brewery.
For a complete list of area attractions and events, visit the website of Destination Mansfield – Richland County.
Source, Image: Destination Mansfield – Richland County
