Miscellaneous Debris is book featuring paintings and drawings by artist Jerrin Wagstaff and includes an interview conducted by Austin Beck-Doss and an essay by Shana Nys Dambrot. Wagstaff's paintings examine the nature of visual experience in the internet era and the anxiety of responding to a torrent of information. In this body of work, the artist draws upon images culled from news media, staged catalogues, stadium events, and stills from reality tv. For Wagstaff painting is an activity of response, interpretation, and physical reconstruction calling into question how or if we can we interpret authenticity any longer. Individual themes of the paintings drift between desire, loss, and identity. The painting "Mattek Sands", depicting back to back US Open mixed doubles champion Bethanie Mattek Sands, raises questions such as 'What does it mean to be winning in America?', while "Aftermath 2", utilizes the wake of destruction caused by wildfires as a metaphor for violent deconstruction and settling into new equilibriums. As a body, the works in Miscellaneous Debris highlight how our attempt to cherry pick from the deluge is both personal and universal, to each his own.
Beck-Doss, Austin: - Austin Beck-Doss is a staff writer for Lola Digital Media in Santa Monica, CA and a Copy Editor and Contributor for SLUG Magazine in Salt Lake City, UT.
Nys Dambrot, Shana: - Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in Downtown LA. She is the Arts Editor for the L.A. Weekly, and a contributor to Flaunt, Art & Cake, and Artillery. She studied Art History at Vassar College, writes book and catalog essays, curates and juries exhibitions, is a dedicated Instagram photographer and is the author of the experimental novella Zen Psychosis (2020, Griffith Moon). She speaks at galleries, schools, and cultural institutions nationally, and is a Co-Chair of ArtTable's SoCal Chapter, is a member of the LA Press Club, and sits on the Board of Art Share-LA the Advisory Council of Building Bridges Art Exchange.
Wagstaff, Jerrin: - Jerrin Wagstaff is an artist based in Salt Lake City, UT who also works in Los Angeles, CA. His paintings address the nature of visual experience in the internet era and the complexities of living in an attention based economy. Jerrin earned his MFA from California State University, Long Beach in 2006 and his BFA from Brigham Young University in 2003. Since graduating, his work has been featured in several solo and group shows locally and throughout the country. His most recent solo exhibition, Miscellaneous Debris, was shown at Another Year in LA, Los Angeles, CA and Nox Contemporary in Salt Lake City, UT. Jerrin's work has also been included in group shows at the Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA, Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA, and CUAC Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to his professional art practice, Jerrin has taught at various colleges and universities over the past 12 including Brigham Young University and Cerritos College. He is also a contributor for The Contemporary Art Digest and a resident at the Guthrie Artist Studios in downtown Salt Lake City, UT.
