Jason Thompson is a British contemporary artist, born and bred in Liverpool. He completed both his BA and MA at Chelsea College of Art in London where the late Roger Ackling was a particularly supportive tutor and mentor. He lives in Liverpool and works just outside the city in his railway-side studio. He has shown locally, with the Cornerstone Gallery in Liverpool and at the Castlefield Gallery in nearby Manchester.
Jason Thompson uses enamel paints and layers of varnish on wooden panels. These panels are usually bought or found in standard industrial dimensions. He describes his paintings as having "a quality that is somewhere between a sacred icon and an old shed door". His painting process involves short bursts of work over a long period of time. He will create layers of images with the initial goal only being to create a picture but the artist has no idea what that picture will be. When an artwork is initiated, there is no plan or any intentions. Jason Thompson will work on many paintings at once so that any conceptions that occur are easily lost or diverted. He will make intuitive, doodle-like marks which he will then carefully copy, repeat and echo. Next he will make more marks on top of that image and by repetition will continue to build up or bury the previous marks. This painting practice is a continuous process of addition and subtraction, creation and destruction. This will eventually evolve into a complex and intricate structure but one that is not planned or designed.
Jason Thompson's work was selected for the John Moores painting prize at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 2010 and he was one of three finalists of the Liverpool art prize in 2014. A permanent exhibition at the Walker, celebrating highlights of the John Moores competition over the past 60 years, exhibits Jason's work 'Below Risen Above Falling' holding its own beside a Sean Scully painting.
The British Arts Council selected three of Jason`s paintings for their collection in 2015. WSJ held his first one person show in 2019 and a joint exhibition, entitled 'Antonym', in October 2020.
We are delighted to announce that WSJ Gallery represent Jason Thompson in the UK.