Statement:

Functioning as a mirror to the human condition, I strive to transcend visual aesthetics with my work. Drawing from my own experiences, I delve into the human psyche, exploring emotions, traumas, vulnerabilities, and the myriad of ways we navigate—or attempt to escape—our inner worlds. Through my art, I aim to evoke emotions, provoke introspection, and capture facets of the human experience as seen through the lens of modern society and my own mind’s eye.

Over the years as an artist, I’ve found that my subjects and themes evolve in tandem with my personal growth. It has been a fascinating journey of self-discovery, marked by the realization that many aspects of life lie beyond our control. As a way of reconciling with this understanding, my artwork has expanded to incorporate elements of technology, medicine, self-medication, and spirituality—tools often used as coping mechanisms in the absence of self-empowerment, structures we lean on to make sense of our lives. These elements weave seamlessly through my images, serving as powerful tools to explore the intricate interplay between human existence and the unfathomable forces that shape it. My work is a harmonious blend of the ethereal and the tangible—a quest to find peace within the enigmatic aspects of reality that so often elude our grasp.

Bio:

Justin Brooks is a New York City based artist from upstate New York whose oil paintings on wooden panel skillfully blend classical techniques with contemporary vision, drawing inspiration from the artists of the Northern European Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age of painting. Using meticulous layering and rich chiaroscuro through the use of various mediums and applications of oil pigments, he achieves striking depth and a sense of uncanny realism. Infused with surrealist mannerisms and modern motifs, his paintings merge historical aesthetics with contemporary themes, aiming to explore the human psyche. This synthesis of old and new creates evocative, dreamlike imagery that challenges perceptions of reality and the transformative human experience.

Justin has channeled the years of professional training he received from his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and Master of Fine Arts from the New York Academy of Art, where he received both the Academy Merit and Exhibition Scholarships, into an established artistic practice. To date, Brooks has exhibited extensively with Stone Sparrow NYC, the New York Artists Equity Association, Dacia Gallery, Christie’s and has been featured in publications such as Hyperallergic.