ABOUT
Todd Jones is a North Carolina-based artist and educator whose work excavates the layers of memory and consumer culture embedded in discarded materials. Working primarily with salvaged house paint, he creates stratified sculptures and installations that transform waste into geological records of our time. These artworks act as archives of consumer desire, questioning our cycles of disposal and revealing the collective memories latent in our discarded objects.
Jones is a recipient of grants from the Rauschenberg Foundation and The Snapdragon Fund, a partnership between VAE Raleigh and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. He was a finalist for the 2022 Miami University Young Painters Competition and the Boynes Emerging Artist Award. His practice has been further developed through national and international residencies, including the Siena Art Institute (Siena, Italy), the Diamante Latino Artist-in-Residence program (Raleigh, NC), and The Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences (Rabun Gap, GA).
His solo exhibitions include venues such as 934 Gallery (Columbus, OH), Diamante Arts and Cultural Center (Raleigh, NC), Elon University (Elon, NC), and 621 Gallery (Tallahassee, FL). His work has also been featured in group exhibitions at venues such as ArtFields (Lake City, SC), the Spartanburg Art Museum (Spartanburg, SC), and the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (Tallahassee, FL).
Jones is an Assistant Professor and Gallery Director at Meredith College (Raleigh, NC), where he integrates his studio practice with arts education and curation. He holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing, along with a Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts Management from Ohio University (Athens, OH), and a BFA in Studio Art and Psychology from Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL). His academic background, which combines studio art with psychology, provides a foundation for his research into consumer behavior and material culture.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Through my artwork, I mold together memories and waste generated by our ever-changing, consumer-driven economy. Inspired by archeological practices such as excavation, collection, and curation, I transform discarded materials into paint sculptures. These works promote sustainability and positively influence our contemporary consumerist values.
In my practice, I work with discarded and mistint house paints sourced from households and landfills. Mistint house paints are products of unsatisfied consumers because of incorrect color choices or finishes. I intercept these paints before they end up in landfills to give them a new purpose. These materials symbolize our culture's fascination with identity and attention, reflecting the psychological dynamics of shifting consumer desires.
Through my artistic process, I transform salvaged paints into stratified sculptures that hint at their prior purpose. This process involves repeatedly pouring and drying layers of paint, resulting in slabs or "paint skins." I then intuitively manipulate and carve these forms, drawing inspiration from geological formations and everyday household objects. The shavings from the carving process are repurposed, often cast in resin using molds of discarded household objects.
Domestic spaces and antiquated household objects such as candelabras and ornate picture frames serve as my creative muses. I reshape these objects using sustainable materials, capturing their invisible memories in new artistic forms. These transformations give discarded paints a new life as visual records of historical color use, reflect the evolving consumer mindset, and provide an archeological perspective on everyday household objects.
My artworks are influenced by contemporary society's pervasive consumerism. I aim to incite viewers to reflect upon their relationship with material possessions. I am committed to continuously delving into the intricate connections between consumption, domesticity, and the impact these have on our environment. Through my work, I experiment with scale and materials to create pieces that challenge our consumer behaviors and inspire viewers.