April 28, 2019, the Art of Jorin Bossen Featured at the Upper West!

Michigan native Jorin Bossen is set to exhibit work at the Upper West. Known for its delicious cuisine, the Santa Monica restaurant features art on the walls and brings in a new artist every few months. The solo exhibition entitled "Notes on Gesture" will feature twenty-five artworks.

“The Upper West is a lovely restaurant and I am very excited and honored to show with them, said Bossen. “The walls and lighting really showcase the art.” He added that the food was delicious and staff was extremely friendly. He said he was looking forward to the opening. “I will be showing works that fall under the umbrella of contemporary figurative, along with a few works from my western series.”

Bossen was raised by artists. Inspired by his father, a photographer and his mother a ceramicist, he was drawn to art since he was a child. His parents would provide paper with colored pencils and it kept him busy for hours. “My brother and I would draw fantastical scenarios. He moved on to other interests, but I kept with it.” Bossen eventually started painting in his junior year at Kalamazoo College. Now his process includes drawing, photography first, but he will also use a computer as a starting point for many of his works, but added, that the final product is painting.

When asked what inspires him, he replied, “I look for images that interest me. I take these from photos that I take or friends’ photos, as well as magazine, and movie stills, pretty much from anything that I feel drawn to. Whenever he starts a new painting, these are go-to images for him. “I will look through these images to see what I am drawn to, what about them I currently find most interesting. Sometimes it is the facial expressions, or how figures interact with one another, it might be a gesture or a mood that the figure conveys.” Then he creates sketches of the paintings first, either by hand or on the computer. Once he has decided on the layout, the work begins.

When asked what type of paint he prefers, he replied, “I’ve used a variety of mediums. I currently use oil and acrylic. Different types of paint have different qualities that I find useful for varying techniques, but the lushness and depth of oil is my favorite.”

"Notes on Gesture" opens at the Upper West on Sunday April 28th, 2019 from 4-7pm. The artist Jorin Bossen, will be in attendance at the Upper West (3321 Pico Boulevard,Santa Monica 90405); 310 586-1111; https://theupperwest.com/; http://www.jorinbossen.com/