PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Dictators, Nazis, serial killers, cult leaders and various other unseemly subjects painted on velvet between 2005 and 2008. Catalog includes a large number of commissions and special requests.
Jack Malebranche is no longer accepting commissions for velvet paintings at this time. All paintings have been sold; none are currently available for purchase.
However, please enjoy the archived images collected at the bottom of this page.
PUBLIC SHOWINGS
2005 SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL
"Man with Boar's Head" selected for inclusion.
GIDGET GEIN'S "VAUDEVILLE FLESH" (March 2006)
"Jesus Christ Bukakke"
http://www.vaudevilleflesh.com/home.htm
UNPOP ART WEB SITE
http://www.unpopart.org/artworks/artworks2.html
SERIAL KILLER CALENDAR (2008 Edition)
SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS
Featured selected "Velvet Killers
http://www.serialkillercalendar.com/2008serialkillercalendar.html
SHANE BUGBEE'S TRUE CRIME WARPED MINDS TOUR
Featured selected "Velvet Killers"
http://bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/05040243.asp
PROJECT STATEMENT
"Velvet Anathema"
Velvet painting is essentially a romantic medium. Subjects portrayed on velvet are generally objects of admiration such as pop icons, religious icons and nude women, or romantic depictions of exotic locales or customs, the ubiquitous matadors are a perfect example. It is a commercial medium, essentially designed to evoke sentiment from those who are anything but connoisseurs of fine art. Velvet lends itself to sensous, simple brushstrokes that can only enhance the romantic appeal of any subject portrayed.
But, as with bullfighting, there is something darker and more carnal intrinsic to velvet painting. The best velvet paintings allow the black velvet to seep through. Velvet is a medium wherein the darkness holds sway over the light. Unlike traditional oil painting, velvet painting demands chiaroscuro; it is more than a selected effect. Black is the base, the underlayer of every black velvet painting.
My work is an effort to bring to the surface that base blackness, to explore the possibilities offered by a medium that is both romantic and dark, to romanticize the subjects that are rarely portrayed in a favorable light. Traditionally, velvet painters portray the loved; I prefer to paint the hated. I paint scapegoats, dictators, despots, conquerors, murderers, antagonists, rebels, monsters, the uncomfortable, the misunderstood and that which is distasteful or generally despised. The context of velvet painting, as a medium known for romanticism, adds a bit of black humor to every depiction of society's personae non grata.
Intentionally, my work also provokes the viewer and causes them to ask themselves to consider why a certain chracter or type is despised. I claim no particular fraternity with or affinity for the subjects I paint. The purpose is to force the viewer to question why we hate those who are hated, or disdain that which is commonly disliked. Too often, we fail to question the rationale for popular anathema.
GALLERY
