DOWNTOWN — The work of street artist and local resident Dillon will be featured in a new exhibition opening this weekend at the Jeanie Madsen Gallery. The artist has recently garnered much attention for his provocative art.
He was attracted to art at an early age. "I started making art in grade school … just drawing all day in class," said Dillon. "I made lost wax casting jewelry for years after high school … miniature sculptures which I would cast in gold and silver."
This will be the first time that he will be showing work at the Jeanie Madsen Gallery. "For Jeanie's show I will be doing variations of the pieces she really liked from my catalogue," Dillon said. "I am like everyone in the world; I am influenced by what people respond to and I use that as inspiration to create pieces that I would have not thought otherwise."
In the upcoming show, which opens Saturday, Oct. 5, Dillon will offer art from several of the series he is currently working on — "Beautiful destruction, Untitled Series," and "Third Eye Visions."
"My first series, ‘Beautiful Destruction,' [is] done on shooting targets that I personally shot," Dillon said. "I am an avid shooter and enjoy the art of it. It calms my nerves and drowns out the static I deal with on a daily basis. So I started incorporating targets into my work."
As part of this series, he will be showcasing several of his Marilyn Monroe sketches.
"The next series, titled ‘If Looks Could Kill,' is also inspired by my fascination with guns. The basic premise behind these pieces is that every person and especially a person's certain expression is exactly paired with a certain gun or method of destruction."
Dillon admits he was inspired by the phrase "people's words can cut like a knife," for this series. "Just a look can shoot like a gun. And a stare can devastate. I don't have a name for this series yet because I have only just started experimenting with the idea."
"Third Eye Visions" features his first series of portraits with stripes emanating from the subject's third eye. This series is his most raw and is known for capturing a startling level of emotion.
In addition to creating works with the shooting targets, Dillon paints on both canvas and cardboard.
"I love the cardboard," he said. "It's kind of like a found object art form."
Dillon finds for gallery shows people are more interested in purchasing paintings on canvas, so for shows he usually sticks to that medium. Since the artist's work is out there on public streets, his notoriety is climbing and his original pieces have become quite valuable. Dillon sells a majority of his originals at galleries ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.
The opening reception will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jeanie Madsen Galley, 1431 Ocean Ave. The show will run through Oct. 31. To learn more about Dillon visit destroyrebuildrepeat.com/dillon/
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