Jason Craighead Signs with Somerhill

Chapel Hill, NC, January 18, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Abstract expressionist Jason Craighead of Raleigh is now being represented by Joseph Rowand’s Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, joining an illustrious stable that includes Herb Jackson, John Beerman, Elizabeth Matheson, Dorothy Gillespie, Jennie Bireline, and the late Horace Farlowe, among other notables.

"Looking at artwork is my full-time job and my full-time pleasure,” Rowand said recently. “With a lifetime of visual curiosity and 35 years as an art professional, I am struck by Jason’s ways of simplifying or magnifying a thought or an experience into a comprehensible, imaginable form. With line, emerging forms, and juicy painterly passages on canvas, Jason does what a gifted artist is supposed to make us do. And that is to stop us to better ponder what we might not otherwise. In lots of years of artist-watching, I see Jason as that brand of gifted painter, who, in a young and concentrated career, is maturing into the artist Somerhill is proud to present today.”

Craighead recently terminated his representation at Glance Gallery in downtown Raleigh, which he helped found with owner Bob Doster. After gaining representation at Center of the Earth Gallery in Charlotte, Broadhurst Art Gallery in Pinehurst, and New Elements Gallery in Wilmington, he signed with Atlanta’s Anne Irwin Fine Art in December to increase his exposure in that metropolitan market. Joining Somerhill’s stable ushers in new representation for him in the Triangle market.

Jason Craighead is considered one of the leading abstract expressionists in the Southeast. He describes his work as a “purely intuitive process as I’m acting and responding to what appears on the canvas. Each step leads to another. There’s an on-going dialogue – or argument – between my work and me. It’s very improvisational and very physical. My focus is the process itself.”

Somerhill is featuring one of Craighead’s paintings, “The Depth of Change” (52”x60”) in its currently exhibit “Things That Are BLUE.” Rowand is making plans for a special exhibit of the artist’s newest work in February.

Jason Craighead has exhibited his work throughout the Southeastern United States in many group and solo exhibitions, and has received numerous awards and commissions. His strong patron base is comprised of both large corporations and private collectors, including former U.S. Senator John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth.

Somerhill Gallery, one of the most prestigious galleries in the Southeast, will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year. The gallery features abstract and representational artwork in all visual disciplines. It is located in Eastgate Shopping Center on East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (www.somerhill.com)

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