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Cloud compositions deal with the idea of conflict and turbulence, both domestic and abroad.  These clouds also double as nebulas, contracting and expanding energy around the idea of conflict. These works deal with notions of political strife coexisting with environmental concerns, and create compositions of smaller troubled environments coexisting in larger yet equally troubled ones.  There are fragmented figurative elements existing in and outside of these clouds, as well as tools, weapons, and vices.  These fragments serve as visual metaphors that address specific narratives from our modern time.

- Jason Stout

Jason Stout was born in 1977. He received his BFA in studio art from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2001 and a MFA in Painting from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2004. Stout’s work visually deals with elements of formal and figurative abstraction, while exploring such themes as power, history, and identity, especially through the guise of southern culture. His work exists in several private and public collections, including the University of West Georgia, Jacksonville State University, and the University of Tennessee at Martin. During his career he has participated in several solo exhibitions and has been a part of several group exhibitions as well. Stout has won several scholarships and individual awards for his work. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee at Martin and is represented by REM gallery in San Antonio, Texas. Stout was recently named TAEA Higher Education Art Educator of the Year for 2015-16 and Best of Show at Art of the South 2016.

* All images courtesy of Rachel Melton.