Jamie Sloane: The Visiteur Series

A collection of portraits by Point Pleasant, West Virginia, artist Jamie Sloane illustrates the power that still resides in the artist’s brush to represent the human figure. Unlike many of the photographic portraits that are pushed through cyberspace, the contemporary painted portrait, even if done in a realistic style, does not have to be about physical reality. It can be a manipulation of the elements on the picture plane that creates fiction through symbols and background, telling a story that can be puzzling and mysterious. At times the artist even obscures the subject’s face, the most basic element in the traditional portrait.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.