JON MANTEAU
Philadelphia Historical Artifacts

May 2 – June 21, 2014
Artist Reception, May 3, 5 – 7 p
First Friday, May 2, 6 – 8:30
First Friday, June 6, 6-8:30 pm

LGTripp Gallery is pleased to present Philadelphia Historical Artifacts, a solo exhibition of recent work by Philadelphia-based artist, Jon Manteau.

An early history tagging the streets of Philadelphia launched Jon Manteau into a lifelong fascination with mark making both in his artistic process and conceptualization. “Why do we find it necessary to mark time, an event, a place or our presence?” he asks. His newest body of work both lovingly and passionately wrestles with that question in an elaborate showing at LGTripp gallery that blurs the lines between painting, sculpture, and installation.

Although trained as a painter, in his newest work sculpture and painting cannot be disentangled. Large carpets extend off the walls and form waves on the gallery floor. Nearby African sculptures stand at ceremonial attention, while across the room, Barnes-like installations alter the physical space of the gallery. However, throughout is Manteau’s characteristic approach to mark making. Whether on two or three-dimensional surfaces, his marks are lush and lively gestural explorations of color and space. As a high school graffiti artist, Manteau repeatedly sought to leave his mark on the existing architectural forms of Philadelphia. As a mature artist, that sensibility remains while his canvas has expanded. In this exhibition, he re-appropriates not only spaces but also objects, symbols and iconic Philadelphia images. He states, “Nearly anything that I process as a native son has the “potential” to be a “Philadelphia Historical Artifact”.

A native son of Philadelphia, Jon Manteau graduated from Central High School. He studied at Parsons under Sean Scully and went on to receive a certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where he was awarded the William Emlen Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship. He later earned an MFA from the University of Delaware. An art teacher for over twenty years, Manteau has taught at the University of Delaware, Tyler School of Art, and is currently building the art department at Penn State Brandywine. His works have been exhibited nationally and are in collections throughout the United States and Canada.