Jim Houser

OBSERVER

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Jim Houser is a self-taught artist, musician, designer, and original member of the renowned artist collective Space1026 in Philadelphia. He is celebrated for his iconic patchwork paintings, color theory, stylized figures, and for challenging the definition of object versus painting. For PUSHING, Houser further develops his unique visual language through an emphasis on execution and concept. Centered with a focus on application and practice, Houser presents a complex body of unique pieces all interconnected by meditations on shapes, repurposing, and the inescapable weight of our current socio-political climate. Jim Houser was born in 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the city where he currently resides. Houserʼs collages, paintings, and installations have been exhibited extensively in institutions such as the Laguna Art Museum and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Art as well as galleries in Milan, Paris, Sydney, and São Paulo. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Houser layers acrylic on wood, fabric, and found objects, blurring the lines between collage and sculpture. when viewed as a whole, it becomes clear that all of his works are associative and directly related. This deceptively dimensional quality is further highlighted when the pieces are assembled into one of the artist’s elaborate installations, adding to the complexity of each individual piece by emphasizing greater interconnectivity to the body of work as a whole.