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Justin Gaffrey Gallery LIFE STILL Opening May 22 - SoWal Art Month

May 14, 2019 by SoWal Staff

On Wednesday, May 22, the Justin Gaffrey Gallery invites the community to an opening reception for Gaffrey’s latest collection of paintings titled “LIFE STILL”.

This exhibition began as a study of traditional still life paintings, inspired by artists like Henri Matisse and Leonardo da Vinci. Gaffrey researched and studied various works in order to better understand the true meaning of still life and the thought process these great artists went through in order to produce such great works.

“As I explored the work more in-depth, simultaneously my observation of the world outside of the studio was feeling upside down,” Gaffrey said. “I also became bored with some of the traditional aspects of the inanimate still life.”

These feelings evolved into “LIFE STILL,” bringing the conventional still life into movement, while also painting some of the elements of the traditional still life arrangement.

From 6- 9 p.m., Guests of the gallery viewing will enjoy complimentary light bites, drinks, and beer provided by Props Craft Brewery. Those in attendance will also have the unique opportunity to purchase original works and several different limited-edition, archival prints from the "LIFE STILL" collection.

There will be a raffle drawing for a 16” x 20” hand-painted, artist edition of a new piece. Raffle tickets for the drawing are on sale now for $20, and all proceeds will benefit Food For Thought Outreach Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Santa Rosa Beach that provides backpacks filled with healthy, easy to prepare food for students who are dependent on free or reduced school meals. Tickets can be purchased at the Justin Gaffrey Gallery located at 21 Blue Gulf Drive, from now until May 22.

“As I search for the meaning of things happening in this world, I find life absurd,” Gaffrey said. “The only option is to let go of the search and fall into the absurd – in painting and life.”

To learn more and RSVP for the event, visit http://bit.ly/LIFESTILL.

About Justin Gaffrey
Justin Gaffrey is a self-taught, locally and nationally known artist who challenges himself and the norms of art on a regular basis while also pushing the boundary at any chance he gets. His work studio is outfitted with a full metal and woodworking shop, creating free-standing sculptural works and sculptural paintings. Gaffrey’s work is loose and expressive but underplayed with intense study and practice. His work can be an emotional landscape of his home in northwest Florida, to life-size human skeletons, exposing a confused and beautiful life. While Gaffrey is primarily known for his heavily textured style of stacking layers of paint onto the canvas with a palette knife, his work is constantly changing like a moving target, making it difficult to pinpoint any particular genre or theme of art.