Thinking Out Loud with John and Spencer

THINKARTWORKTT Studio's upcoming exhibition titled Thinking Out Loud will feature works by Kerron John and Kevon Spencer.

John was born in 1996 and at an early age, his parents noticed his love for art, which he credits to his mother's artistic influence, a media release said. At nine, he began to take part in art competitions and from there he began to experiment with numerous mediums, including acrylics, watercolours, colour pencils, and pastels.

During his years at secondary school, firstly San Juan South Secondary and later Fatima College, he won numerous accolades for his work, and it was here he was introduced to clay sculpting and traditional figurative painting.

John has continued to participate successfully in several joint art exhibitions in Trinidad and has had several of his paintings become part of collections in the USA.

"I primarily classify myself as a contemporary figurative artist, working in oils, with discipline in other media such as acrylics, pastels, graphite, pen and ink, gouache, charcoal and clay. I tend to produce artwork combining traditional painting techniques/styles and contemporary elements to create more self-expression and textural work," John said in the release.

"Social issues and personal realisation are the main topics in my work. My paintings can be described as dream-like or a deconstruction of realistic aesthetics combining abstraction and naturalism. The human figures breaking apart or dispersing, plays with the emotions of the viewer, bringing forth a transgressive ideology of provoking an emotion, mood or thought of the viewer. I am deeply fascinated by the human figure, and I believe I have yet to really digest all the possible ways that I can manipulate the body in my work," he said.

John's dream is to become a world-renowned artist, but an artist that is able to break certain boundaries and values. His main goal is to heal people and have people think, feel and connect with his work by being able to freely talk about any issues or topics that he thinks is relevant to me and the wider world.

Spencer, too, began drawing at a very early age; notoriously drawing on the walls of his home with crayons. He started entering art competitions in primary school as his love for art grew.

Secondary school was where his eye for detail developed as the fear of getting low grades on his artwork made him pay extra attention to every detail of his drawings. This intricate nature became his style. Spencer began exhibiting his work in 2018 and has participated in several exhibitions since then. He is a young emerging artist with an eye for detail and a love for charcoal.

He said, "What inspire me to draw are the thrill, the satisfaction of creating something from nothing; turning a blank paper into a masterpiece by the strokes of my hand, and the challenge of capturing every detail to make the drawing look as realistic as possible. It’s an exhilarating and amazing feeling.

"What inspires my work is the need to send a message, or for the aesthetic to portray an idea or thought in a creative way. I do this through social commentary and realism."

The exhibition takes place October 5-12 from 12-6 pm. Opening night is October 4, 6-9 pm.