FLOWER BOMB by Jim Neeley

Artist Statement: Dove-tailing off two successful exhibitions of collage work coined Obsession Tiles, artist Jim Neeley produced a body of work for this show that is a celebration, an explosion, a riot of the flowers, fruits, weeds, and fauna. Inspirations and elements tangled into the imagined bouquets include fashionistas of the 60’s and 70’s, iconic architecture that fascinates Neeley, pop culture and improbable mashups of all these elements. The compositions are filled with color and pattern, fantasy and escape, nostalgia and cool, and always his signature irreverence and whimsey. The Obsession Tiles are composed of photos Jim has taken and cataloged over the years, obscure images culled from the internet, ephemera, cut and torn papers, and linework. The work in unapologetic, it is spontaneous and like anything handmade it celebrates the small imperfections. It scratches the artist’s varied creative “itches”. What you see here is an insatiable curiosity and a fertile, eccentric imagination at work. It is obsessive and excessive in hopefully a good way. And like all his artistic efforts, FLOWER BOMB is completely self-indulgent and pure Wisecracker.