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From Wales via Chicago:
Jon Langford
OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday July 5, 2007 - 6pm-8pm
OPEN DAILY: Wednesday thru Saturday 11am-5pm
CLOSING: Saturday August 4, 2007
WHERE: Garde Rail Gallery - 110 Third Avenue South - Tel.206.621.1055
Jon Langford has been well known since the 1970's as founding member of the British rock band The Mekons. Hailing from Wales, Jon moved stateside in the 1990's, landing in Chicago, and started other projects such as The Waco Brothers and Pine Valley Cosmonauts.
Jon's art school background and passion for music and Americana naturally revealed his nostalgic and timeless portraiture. Langford's paintings capture the industry's most notable stars, frozen in a moment when record labels were selling the genre that so identified American music. These images embody a complex range of emotions created by the hopeful innocence of a perfect publicity shot, paired with symbols and quips hinting to the darker side of the music business. The scars and the weight that come with the glory carried throughout long careers are recorded for posterity.
We discovered Jon's art at an art fair in Atlanta some years back and fell in love with his pieces that felt "worn in" like a good pair of Levi's. Jon's aesthetic and subject matter fit right in with what we love. Jon creates his original paintings on wood through an arduous process of layering, painting, scraping, marking and varnishing, suggesting the mileage that only a tour bus can rack up! Demand for Jon's work is so high that he creates limited edition prints, which are carefully mounted and sealed on wood, and maintain the feel of his original paintings.
As well as being a father of two and co-hosting a radio show in Chicago, Jon Langford's prolific talent in art and music keep him very busy.
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Jon Langford
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