Check out Jason Caldwell Stallings’ Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Caldwell Stallings.

Jason, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in a creative family. My mother is a landscape architect, my father is a furniture designer, and my aunt is an interior designer.

I studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design where I received a really well structured traditional art education. To me, that’s really important because I am able to really articulate myself in a unique way, and a have a very solid professional foundation. It taught me how to really define what a finished professional image looks like.

Initially, I planned on becoming a commercial illustrator. Many times I have found success by creating large scale fine art pieces which sort of came about as happy accidents. I created some very strong work under Professor Joy Flynn at SCAD that translated to my first few real sales and commissions after college. It wasn’t directly related to my major, but I took a lot of cues and influences from what I studied and applied it to a fine art context. From there I kept developing my approach to art making and kept maturing over the years. Ever since then I have been honing my craft and business to what it exists as today.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I created medium to large scale abstract mixed media paintings. In more recent years that’s evolved a bit to include some more figurative elements. There’s part of me that wants to be tied to a traditional sensibility, and part of me that wants to explore more expressive art making. Most artists tend to choose one or the other, but I find exploring the line between both of these sides of my creativity keeps things interesting for me.

As to why? That’s something I been examining a lot lately. Getting out of Art University was a bit of a chaotic experience back in 2007. I studied an art form that was all based around literal communication (illustration). It’s a great challenge, but I kind of struggled with the literal part. The economy was in the early stages of tanking, and I was searching for a direction to go into. I think making art was a way for me to channel that stress into something positive for myself. So in essence, I found organization among a lot of chaos.

Part of me has always wanted to push to make something that allows people to experience something that elicits an experience that sits between a sense of calm and tension. I want to give the viewer something visually rich and thoughtful to explore. I definitely appreciate a minimal approach, but it doesn’t really fit within my natural tendencies as a creative individual. If nothing else, what I make is a reflection of how my mind processes the world.

I take influence from some abstract expressionist, but I kind of take ideas from a lot of different genres. There’s a bit of pop art influence that shows up in my art from time to time. I feel like if you just limit yourself to taking influence from a genre, your art could get stale after a while. I really like Gustav Klimt, Jasper Johns, and Wassily Kandinsky to name a few.

Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
That’s a good question. I definitely feel like artists have a certain amount of social responsibility. There are definitely ways I have attempted to tackle certain social issues in my art, but I am not quite as clever as other artists in how I portray that kind of message. Also, in most cases communicating a really complex social issue within the context of abstraction is pretty difficult. I would rather leave social commentary to those with a better ability to skillfully pull it off.

Given the social climate of Texas, you walk a pretty fine line as an artist when you bring social issues into your work in terms of how people react. More than likely I am going to reserve that kind of art making for other parts of the world more interested in art that has a socially oriented voice. People don’t really react well to politics in their art here, and I have made a conscious decision to be aware of that.

At times what’s going on in the world does become part of my artwork. I created a huge mural-size painting for a benefit show in 2008 that my friend Monica Kelly curated. Proceeds towards that show went towards rebuilding homes in New Orleans. I worked with fellow artist Connie Lee on that painting. She helped me lead it in a direction that translated what I wanted to say. That painting really distilled what I was feeling in terms of people’s negative perceptions of a part of the world that was really vulnerable at the time. If there’s a positive outcome that can come from me making a statement, I’d be more willing to take something like this on.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
At the moment I am working on where I am going to show next. I got my start working with interior designers. I have worked a lot with Sherry Hayslip Rewards Gallery in terms of getting my work in front of people. I have shown in group exhibitions with a local pop up series called “Urban Scene Dallas,” started by local realtor Landon Burke. I had a few solo exhibitions at what was the Stephanie Anne Boutique shop in Highland Park village between 2009 and 2013. I have shown a bit in Georgia as well.

I was chosen to be part of the “Rising Star” group exhibition in Oak Cliff in 2014 at Turner House. I was in a co-exhibition with Artist Jacqui Sommerman in 2017 in a boutique in the Bishop Arts District.

I have taken my time with my career. I’ve learned a lot through trial and error. This has allowed me to move into the next phase of my career with a bit more wisdom. My goal moving forward is to show a lot more, in Dallas and beyond. The time I have taken has taught me a lot about having patience. This is a very crucial skill for an artist to cultivate.

As far as how to support me? Keep coming to my exhibitions. I always appreciate the support. You can order prints and other cool stuff through my website too. I also sell prints through Saatchi Gallery’s website. Those are a bit higher quality and can be framed or printed canvas on demand and sent directly to you. I have been working on developing content for a Patreon page to offer some interesting content for people that’s sort of supplementary to my art. That includes some audio commentary and sketches. I’ll probably have more ideas coming through the pipeline so check my website regularly.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3504 centenary ave
  Dallas TX 75225
• Website: www.jason-stallings.com
• Phone: 214-793-4112
• Email: jason@jason-stallings.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasoncstallings/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasonstallingsart/
• Other: https://jason-stallings.com/art-prints/

Image Credit:
Photography courtesy of Kim Watson.

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.