K. Wesley Clark
K. Wesley E. Clark is a native of Silver Spring, MD. He is an accomplished painter, whose passion for art was seeded in high school. He went on to receive a BFA in Painting from Syracuse University. At Syracuse, Wesley was introduced to various mediums ranging from painting, metalsmithing, photography and crochet. His prodigious talent and diversified training have blossomed into endless possibilities of artistic expression, which manifests in multifarious moods and environments. Wesley's budding career has proliferated into creative and poignant artworks, which stir the soul and move the mind. One of Wesley's most esteemed creations is SonRise Incorporated. Wesley incubated the vision and mission of the concept while in college and after college the business was born. The fledgling company has already experienced tremendous success and is well on its way to reaching explosive growth. K. Wesley E. Clark was born in Washington, DC and raised in Silver Spring, MD. He feels his gifts are a combination of the many talents in his family all compiled into one person. As such, he creates to reflect the many sides of himself.
Artist Statement
"My works are expressions of my diverse thoughts, feeling, emotions, moods, and environments. I reflect on Africa and the diaspora, painting landscapes and scenes in a realist manner. The injustices against Africans are reflected strongly in my work as recurring thoughts needing to be expressed - like the voices of ancestors demanding to be heard.
On the other side, my works also reflect the colors and sounds of the present. "Funk" (as in Parliment and the Funkadelics) and "Afrobeat" (as in Fela Anikulapo Kuti) take hold of my spirit and colors fly from my brush onto faces and into hair, patterns fall in backgrounds, while James Brown shouts, "MAKE IT FUNKY!!!" and a party begins.
The boldness, rebel nature, and creative re-interpretation of a written language found in graffiti art have begun to take form on my canvases - speaking my mind with more than just a visual presence but a literal one as well; making letters and words seem more like familiar forms and hidden points of interest. I approach environments with a mental rolodex of styles and media - much like looking through different lenses and filters to prescribe the right combinations for a given space.
All of these influences are compiled to create paintings with several layers of attraction. I look at my works as self-portraits. There is such diversity in how one can feel, or what one thinks that I use different styles, media and mediums with layers to push and pull the viewer across the chosen surface. I've not categorized my style of painting, nor do I want to. I feel like such labels are confining and I want to explore all facets of creating."