Unearthing ancient narratives from the detritus of industrial decline, where Sirens grapple with sinking ships and Sibyls predict cataclysmic events, Beau Stanton gilds his apocryphal myth with the graphical elements of creation, destruction and rebirth, inviting the viewer inside our collective unconscious ornamented by layers of chipped artifice and the rusted machinations of time.
A painter and muralist, Stanton creates work ranging in size from tiny eye miniatures to large-scale images ornamenting entire building facades.
The work combines classical oil painting with intricate silk-screened patterns inspired by pre-modern architecture, letterpress ornaments, and decayed infrastructure. In search for historical reference, Stanton begins his artistic process by exploring abandoned 19th century sites around the greater New York City area collecting photo references, Victorian ephemera, and antiquated machinery. These artifacts often appear in Stanton’s paintings as “cogs” in heavily ornamented machine-like compositions. The initial studies of these artifacts are then distilled into highly ornate silk-screened compositions. Finally, the pieces are fully rendered with oil paint, manipulating focus, light and perspective.
Stanton hails from California and is influenced heavily by Ancient architecture, nautical history, and the Aesthetic Movement. He relocated to New York after graduation in 2008, and has since been mentored by New York Pop Surrealist Ron English. He has had solo exhibitions with Bold Hype Gallery in New York City and Gallery Hijinks in San Francisco as well as group exhibitions with Ad Hoc Art, SCOPE NY, Helium Cowboy Artspace Hamburg, Spoke Art, Opera New York, and Last Rites Gallery.