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JKB Fletcher (born 1982) is an English artist currently living and working in Melbourne, Australia. JKB is a hyperrealism painter best known for his work 'Dirty Faces', 'In The Flesh' and the 'Hero Face Project'. His paintings have been in a number of solo exhibitions including his 'Dirty Faces' series at FortyFive Downstairs in 2011, and 'In the Flesh' series at Carbon Black in 2010, in Melbourne.

He has been included in numerous group exhibitions in the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2011 JKB was included in the 'Things to Come' and 'Climate Change' exhibition at Metro Gallery, Melbourne.

JKB is currently working on an upcoming solo show at Metro Gallery, opening August 2012, entitled 'Role Models'.

Life
Jonathan Kris Burton Fletcher was born in Solihull, West Midlands (region), England UK, in 1982 the eldest of four children.

At 16 he attended North East Worcestershire College in Redditch; over five years he studied City and Guilds of London Institute Life Drawing and Black and White Photography courses, a GNVQ in Art and Design, National Diploma Art and Design, and a Higher National Diploma in Fine Art. It was at N.E.W College that JKB had his first ever exhibition and sold his first work to an art tutor. JKB was accepted into Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, Scotland. He studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts Drawing and Painting over three years and achieved a 2.1 BA honours. During his time at University JKB studied abroad at San Diego State University.

In 2007 JKB moved to Melbourne, Australia where he is currently living and working. He is represented by Metro Gallery, Melbourne and Plus One Gallery, London UK.

Style
JKB's work references questions of aesthetics and addresses Photorealism as more than a photograph with oil based paint. Using ‘reality’ and sensuality, his work provokes thoughts and sensations of physicality, aspiration and beauty. His paintings are ideas and thoughts surrounding archetypes, inspirations, progress, self-improvement, self-manipulation and mutilation, personal image and desire. "Realism to me is one of the most interesting ways to communicate. It appears to me that the psychology of the viewer approaches a photorealistic painting as an image first and a painting second, followed by a recognition of effort and finally the study of flaws and technique, stimulating a different mental process to any other style of painting which would be approached as a painting first."

JKB's process involves staging photo shoots. He takes his own photos and crops and manipulates images if needed. The chosen image is painted on square linen using Oil paint.

Works
'Dirty Faces' Project The Dirty Faces project is a series of oil paintings depicting a person painted as a contemporary superhero, the superheroes symbols the archetype of the hero, and flesh or skin to represent people or a person. A female model is used in the paintings to ensure the viewer does not mistake that he has just tried to recreate the superhero and is instead relaying themes of inspiration, aspiration, soul, spirit, personal reflection, growth and improvement. The process for this series involves painting a model in 'face' paint, the paint is placed on the model 'roughly' to resemble the superhero. A photo shoot is staged and the model is photographed. An image is chosen and painted on square, oil on linen.

'In the Flesh' Project JKB photographs and paints skin, whether it be of a human body or a goldfish. The images are captured 'up close' to exaggerate ambiguity. The images represent flesh in the form of an ambiguous landscape and are painted on square, oil on linen. The themes to this series relate with simplicity, beauty, nature, sensuality and association.

'Hero Face' Projects In this ongoing project JKB takes local contemporary advertisement from posters and magazines. The advertisements of fashion models are painted with masks of superheroes overt the male and female models.The images are painted over with oil and acrylic paints, signed, cheaply framed and posted back up on walls to continue advertising. JKB expresses themes of social zeitgeist in relation to idealising, aspiring, social ideas, perfection and craze.

Exhibitions
2012 'Climate Change', Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (Group Exhibition).Plus One Gallery, London, United Kingdom (Group Exhibition).

2011 'Dirty Faces', FortyFive Downstairs, Melbourne, Australia (Solo Exhibition). 'Things to Come', Metro Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (Group Exhibition). Metro Gallery Art Prize, Finalist, Melbourne, Australia. 2010 'In the Flesh', Carbon Black Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (Solo Exhibition)

2009 Melbourne Art Fair, BSG, Melbourne. 2008 The Lounge, Birmingham, England. Frankston Art Centre, Cube 37. 6 degrees Art Prize ‘A Human Landscape: The Cult of Personality’.

2007 Gallery Heinzel, Aberdeen, Scotland. Bridge View Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland

2006 Sun Gallery, Fife, Scotland. The White Gallery, Dundee, Scotland. The Meffan Gallery, Forfar, Scotland. Kim Canale, Wall Projects, ’69 Degrees’, Fife, Scotland. RSA ‘Student Exhibition’,Edinburgh. Dundee University, Scotland.