Frontier Boys Trip 6 | Forth Worth, Texas

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When I found out one of my favorite artists had an exhibition in Fort Worth, I immediately hopped on Frontier’s site and booked a flight from Ontario to Dallas.

My flight was direct, and I hit the museum as soon as I landed. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is gorgeous, with incredible art throughout. In all honesty though, I was there to see Jammie. I initially thought he had one piece on display, but was hyped to discover 3 rooms full of his work.

Jammie Holmes is an American painter from Louisiana whose work explores notions of masculinity, mourning, childhood, and race. The museum show - curated by Maria Elena Ortiz - is titled “Make the Revolution Irresistible,” and accomplishes just that.

Jammie is truly 1 of 1, and a gift to the art world.

Where to next?

Cheers.

Blake, a Frontier Boy

Blake had to keep it short because he had a plane to catch back to California, but let me tell you a bit more about Jammie and show you some of his work — I think that’ll help you better understand why Blake hailed a Frontier plane like a New York City yellow cab to see Jammie’s first museum solo exhibition.

To start, Jammie Holmes is completely self-taught.

As you can see, Holmes’ paintings fall somewhere between “realistic depiction and raw abstraction.” He incorporates text, symbols, and objects in a style that “mirrors a short transition from memory to canvas.”

Jammie’s portrayals are often simple. He tells the story of contemporary life for many in the Deep South — moments surrounding family, ritual, and tradition. But, his work tends to leave a lasting impact. It makes one feel something. It feels so fresh. It forces you to pause. Maybe it’s relatable in an art world that is otherwise so un-relatable?

Simultaneously though, Jammie’s work is the furthest thing from simple as he uses his brush to provide a critique and a challenge to longstanding stereotypes.

“Growing up 20 minutes from the Mississippi River, Holmes was surrounded by the social and economic consequences of America’s dark past . . . His work is a counterpoint to the romantic mythology of Louisiana as a hub of charming hospitality, an idea that has perpetuated in order to hide the deep scars of poverty and racism that have structured life in the state for centuries.”

Jammie translates his emotions to paint like no one we’ve ever seen. It’s relatable, yet complex. Simple, but multifaceted. We’ve got to sit down with him for a Local Joint episode one day to hear his life story.

Where/when/how? Time will tell, but feel free to pass this message along to Jammie if you see him. Let him know we’ll meet him anywhere/anytime.

That’s it from us for now. Talk from the road.

🏃‍♂️ 

-Jack

P.S. Feel free to respond and let us know where you’d like to see us go next.