When the Coyotes Return | Mixed Media on Constructed Panel | 72" x 48" x 12" | 2011

When the Coyotes Return (Detail) | Mixed Media on Constructed Panel | 72" x 48" x 12" | 2011

When the Coyotes Return (Instl.) | Mixed Media on Constructed Panel | 72" x 48" x 12" | 2011

Artist Statement: My work explores how our environments and landscapes are altered by society and nature’s ability to reclaim the spaces and things that we abandon. It was inspired by my time in and around the Upstate of South Carolina—a landscape dotted with the deteriorating infrastructures of old mill villages, empty storefronts, and industries of days gone by. This setting includes the intense variety of color that engulf the mountains during autumn, the faded hues of old commercial signs, and the dark tones of dilapidated structures scattered along the back roads of the South. This is a place blanketed by invasive plants such as kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle, which feverishly grow wherever they wish, enveloping everything in their path with an impenetrable blanket of green. The densely layered compositions and aged surfaces that are characteristic of my work are a reflection of my desire to emulate these settings, to convey through the patina of wear and exposure the ephemeral nature of life. They are my interpretations of an oxymoron—a beautiful detritus.

Jonas Criscoe is an interdisciplinary visual artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States, most notably the International Print Center in New York and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Criscoe has also been featured in various art publications, including Art Lies and New American Paintings, and most recently was a Jerome Fellow at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking and a West Prize Acquisition recipient. A native of Austin, Texas, he received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of Texas at Austin, and his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. Currently, he lives in Minneapolis where he is on the faculty of the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. His portfolio can be viewed at: jonascriscoe.com.