Some recent work from DAF favourite, Portland, Oregon based artist Jesse Reno. “In the latest series of paintings, shamanic beings struggle to find their place in a world simultaneously on the verge of expanding and collapsing. Totem animals and Native American figures reverberate memories of people who once lived as one with nature. Marked by symbols, these figures seek their dreams in the growth of trees and the passing of spirits. on a quest to find their true selves, they collect feathers and relics left by past encounters and past lives. They learn to transcend the boundaries of the rational world evolving into a collage of what they have become and encountered. In this body of work, Reno presents us with a journey leading inward to ultimately expand outward: “If you have moved wisely, your dreams will still grow when you are gone.”

“This is the story that tells itself to me, the weight of personal truth regardless of its outcome. My work acts for no reason other than to convey an inner struggle for expression. simple and direct. open for interpretation. always with purpose. words mispelled left out just like real thinking, the disconnected string of thoughts that guides the day. this is my expression. 200 times this year ive painted random layers of self introspection and visualization. expanding and growing through trial and error. the paintings thicken with purpose as time goes on with each new thought learned, and each layer created, confirmed, rethought, re identified, and tested until it is true or removed.”  -Jesse Reno

Check out more of Jesse’s work at JesseReno.com.