who?
Justin Kane Elder's multidisciplinary practice has tested many fields and genres. Initially using the familiarity of the face as a bridge to share his creative process. Driven by a simple directive to spread joy and inspire others with the knowledge that he has acquired. He creates color dense works that use relatability and obscurity in unison to capture accidental intentionality. His work is a celebration of inspiration and deep meaning, a timeline of experimentation and adaptation. Working in a state of perpetual motion, constantly reinventing and refining both thought and technique, his work continues to shift through the years yet holds the message of joy as a constant.
Elder is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts. He has exhibited across the United States and Canada. Showing at a variety of galleries, museums, art fairs, festivals, events, and conferences. Elder spent several years as a commercial artist working with small locally owned businesses and major corporations such as Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and many more, to inject artwork and culture into their workplace. Exploring ways to push art through non-traditional exposure. He has designed restaurants, pop-up events, public artworks, traveling art shows, event spaces, snowboards, skateboards, and various other products. His work has been featured on local and national TV, advertising campaigns, reality TV, viral videos, numerous magazines, restaurants, lectures, sporting goods, apparel, and much more.
He now resides in Hawaii. Utilizing his expansive range of experience to push the boundaries of his practice. While constantly exploring a wide format of platforms from commissioned works, new art series, written works, creative consultation, interior design, performance art, public speaking, and whatever sparks his curiosity. Currently, he is developing an array of projects; murals intended to uplift and inspire, a new body of large-scale oil paintings, a trilogy of books, three-dimensional portraits, a residency program, and more to be revealed in the coming future.
why?
It is uncanny how my artistic practice has fluctuated throughout my life. Initially, in my career, I considered myself to be just a portrait artist, which is funny because that was only one facet of many. Yes, there is a large body of portraits, but time has taught me that creativity has no limitations. This was a difficult lesson filled with many hardships and victories—each one adding to the scope of what was achievable. Now nearly 30 years later, it is apparent my work will only continue to diversify.
One commonality that is present throughout all of the work is intentionality. Everything I've created has undergone a rigorous and exhaustive contemplation process. Even pieces that appear to be loose and spontaneous have gone through hours of intense thought and consideration. Sometimes months or even years are spent researching and experimenting before a piece comes to life. This stems from my primary directive, a core tenet that I follow, not just in art but in life—a source principle that is simple and part of everyone's base DNA, discovery.
Just as those before me, I seek understanding. It is an age-old quest, one that humanity will forever follow. The timeless questions: What? Why? When? How? Who? All of these queries have driven us to where we are now. They continue to push my creative exploration serving as a renewable resource that stokes the furnace of my findings. The search that will never cease, an unending evolution that has seen many phases and changes. Initially, I started my career thinking only as a painter, until later understanding that painting was just one dialect of a larger language. Now, after years of experimentation and seeking, I have become multilingual, unafraid to use new mediums that speak the vocabulary of discovery.
Thank you for visiting and engaging with my work. I look forward to sharing the numerous projects unveiled in the coming years. Some will be familiar; with paintings, sculptures, murals, design, and digital artworks. Others will be unexpected; novels, videos, music, philosophy, ceramics, and other mysteries yet to be revealed. Culminating in a body of work that showcases how anyone can achieve what they put their mind to, because I am no different than anyone else. I am just a human, simple in nature yet complex in being, looking only to understand the world around me better.
-Everyone finds what they're looking for.
jke