Humble Pie Hosts New Works by Jason Craighead

Raleigh, NC, June 05, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Abstract artist Jason Craighead is about to give downtown Raleigh an up-close look at some of his more current work when he hangs a fresh collection of canvases this week at Humble Pie, a popular dining destination on South Harrington Street in downtown Raleigh.

Craighead’s work has been a presence in Humble Pie off and on for several years, including a triptych that owner Jim Beriau purchased for his permanent collection. The paintings the artist will replace with newer pieces have been on loan to the eatery for nearly a year. Yet the artist’s work has evolved significantly over the past year. So he and Beriau felt it was time to present that evolution to Humble Pie’s patrons.

Jason Craighead’s work has been widely exhibited and reviewed throughout the Southeast. His most recent Raleigh exhibit was the “Microcosm/Macrocosm” show in the Miriam Preston Block Gallery this spring that focused loosely on the large and small structures of the cityscape. His large panels and canvases were juxtaposed with artist Trician McKellar’s small “digital shibon” collages.

Of that exhibit, The Independent Weekly’s Amy White wrote: “One would be hard-pressed to make a direct correlation between Craighead’s art and the cityscape. But the imprint is there in [his] spatial mapping, in his insistent gestural layering of painted and pencil-drawn lines, which are in turn layered and brushed over with pale washes that read as fog or atmosphere, a tangible exploration of the idea of air and space…”

Michele Natale of the News & Observer wrote: ““His urban vision is one of ladders and cranes, Franz Kline-inflected black calligraphic strokes, whitewashed by Pollock-like drips, reinscribed by tentative pencil and charcoal scrawls…

Fellow artist and art critic for Raleigh Metro Magazine observed: ““If you have never seen [Jason’s] paintings before, they have the definite vibe of abstract expressionism, and they conjure up ghosts of everyone from Motherwell to Franz Kline to Cy Twombly.”

The newer works on loan to Humble Pie will range in size from 8-inch by 8-inch up to 50-inch by 50-inch. All will be available for purchase.

Jason Craighead is currently represented by Somerhill Gallery in Chapel Hill, Broadhurst Gallery in Pinehurst; Anne Irwin Fine Art in Atlanta, Georgia; and Bucks Gallery of Fine Art in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

For directions and information on Humble Pie, go to www.humblepierestaurant.com. For more information on Jason Craighead, contact Kim Weiss at blueplate pr (919-272-8615; kjw27612@yahoo.com) or contact the artist directly at 919-946-4219.

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