Wes paints disjointed works, as if looking through a broken kaleidoscope that reveals things in their true distortion. He brings a contemporary approach to modern cubism, teasing out turmoil and acceptance. Eyes, ears, feet, breasts, and food labels are chopped up then reassembled, rendered in architectural forms. Across this body of work, there is a tight pallet: salmon pinks, turquoise, gold, navy, taupe, and large masses of black and white. There is a sense of nostalgia in this pallet, something sort of familiar and disquieting. Through his use of the familiar, he invites the viewer in easily; it is through the composition of these familiar pieces that the tension arises.
Wes Aderhold
SMILE THROUGH IT, 2021
Acrylic, oil pastel, oil bar on canvas
69 x 42 in (175.26 x 106.68 cm)