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Jerry Allen (born Jerry Allen Epp on July 28, 1960) is a Canadian artist who lives and works in Vancouver. He is known primarily for painting and drawing. The works range from conceptual in orientation to representational in character. The artworks are generally concerned with issues of temporality in relation to the categories of language, portraiture and abstraction. His artwork first gained critical notice in the mid 1990’s with large-scale wall drawings of numerical fonts. The work depicted the qualities of abstraction in numbering sequences that brought to mind a shared history with concrete poetry. He has had numerous shows in many different gallery and museum settings.

Early Life The fourth of five children Allen grew up in the poorer rural areas of south Saskatchewan, near Rosetown. In primary school he won a competition for decorating his bicycle at a local rodeo. As a member of a farming family he grew up fulfilling a wide assortment of related jobs most of which involved the operation of heavy equipment. His parents saved to send him to complete high school in Banff, Alberta. The proximity to the Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity proved to be a particular influence. He began his first studies of nude life drawing there. He has a BFA from Concordia University, in Montreal and an MFA from UBC, in Vancouver.

In the early ‘80s Allen returned from an extended stay in Montreal and New York City to form the short lived rock band ‘First Aid for Choking’ that would later include bassist Dave Bacon. In 1982, curator Jonathan Goodman of the Mendel Art Gallery invited filmmaker Kenneth Anger to present a selection of his films over two evenings. In addition to the screening he approached the band to see if they would open for each screening. The outcome of this collaboration, at an early stage of his development, became a defining artistic moment for Allen. The band broke up a short while later with Bacon moving to Edmonton to join SNFU and Allen returning to Montreal to pursue visual art.

Work

For Allen the phenomenon of temporality in visual is joined to representation and abstraction by a distinctive writing style. The time based mural projects became a catalyst for his current engagement, which now includes much more diverse subject matter. The media of painting and drawing in his work is highly personal and idiosyncratic. It typically conveys an admiration for vernacular culture that remarks on seeing and interpreting hand-made signs. While there is considerable historical reflection depicted there also occurs a tension of ambiguity with craftwork that resists easy classification. His work is not formally associated with a particular movement or style however the production is oddly influenced by Vancouver conceptual art and west coast concrete poetry.

Timeline

In 2008 Allen began a series of monthly paintings called ‘Timeline’. The result can be seen not only as series of works but also a single painting viewed in segments. Another aspect of this body of work are coloured pencil drawings that inform colour selection and duration. While initially started and finished in the month of production the later pieces stretch over several months as other painting directions emerge with different contingencies.

Portraits

Beginning in 1996 Allen began producing biographical portraits. The titles of the work index the name and birth year of the subject. The depictions range from the well known to the very obscure. Most are joined by enduring a specific personal event that places them into a specific historical time frame. The portraits sometimes reveal the person prior to the moment that came to define them. In other instances actors stand in to represent the person. These works are usually drawn from film stills and promotion material.

Language