David Jean Thomas

David Jean Thomas

"… a work of art must escape all human limits: logic and common sense will only interfere.But once these barriers are broken, it will enter the regions of childhood vision and dream. Profound statements must be drawn by the artist from the most innocent recesses of his being …".
Giorgio de Chirico 1913.

It is into such midst that we glimpse intimations of the mind and spirit of artist David Jean. His medium of communication is the painted image and his works, powerful in their execution, will undoubtedly engage your attention. Beyond this the foray is indeterminable.

Jean offers us subjects reproduced from the exterior world which by their familiarity establish a point of reference or departure. But then our senses are provoked by the juxtaposition of images that are imagined, dreamed or conjured up. Forcing reality to coincide with the forces of fancy into a single order, demands of our senses that they confer upon the work either a judgment of approval or censure.
Inasmuch as the art generates a diversity of opinion and reaction, therein resides its meaning and its validation.

In such paintings as The Conquest, Liberation or Arch Angel, the artist demonstrates his superb skills as a naturalist by depicting sensual, tangible, provocative female nudes who are counterpoised by weightless, phantasmal apparitions of mythical, winged creatures and fairies et al. The fact that the nudes are often anonymous maintains the surrealism of the scene, the faceless, timeless netherworld of the subconscious with such fantastic images as these.

David Jean displays his technical powers and versatility in all his painted creations: drawings; use of light; from rendering textures of human forms and landscapes to the 'trompe-l'oeil' of cold, polished metal surfaces. His extraordinary skills defy categorization, for he is equally adept at producing bravura examples of Renaissance and Baroque art as he is in recording personal and memorable images chronicling events of present day. Among his distinguished accomplishments is the creation of a series of prints which was personally acknowledged and praised by President Bush, Gen. Colin Powell and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commemorating the Persian Gulf War victory. Jean also had the distinction of serving as official artist for the Toronto Blue Jays during the period which was highlighted by the team's first World Series victory.

David Jean is a Toronto-based artist whose career has spanned over nearly three decades. His paintings and lithographs are widely acclaimed and may be found in numerous notable collections throughout North America.