Jeff ROLAND

"Jeff Roland creates bold, colourful pieces which reflect a constant desire to explore the human psyche. Born in 1969, he has sold works to collectors in France, the UK, the USA, Norway, Canada ,Italy, the Netherlands, and his work is part of the Museum of Everything Collection in London, as well as the Davis Museum in Barcelona.
His paintings have recently been exhibited in Chateau Corbin (Liverdun, 2009), ,the Brick Lane Gallery (London,2010), the Cannes Palm Beach Art Festival (Cannes , 2010) and as part of the Museum of Everything exhibition 2, at the Tate Modern ( London 2010), the Museum de la Halle St Pierre (Paris, 2010), in Galeri Vox (Halden, Norway,2010) and at the University of Nancy, France (2011). He was represented by Galerie L'Art à Part in Toulon, and is now represented by the Luminarte Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

Jeff Roland believes that his art, which emerges from the subconscious, should not be defined according to the expectations of the modern art world. Instead, it is a personal
interaction between artist, canvas and viewer. A self-taught painter, Roland's work is characterised by his use of distinctive, tribal-like figures, a juxtaposition of opposing symbols and
flattened backgrounds. His paintings fuse aspects of the raw style with contemporary literary and visual references.

A number of key themes can be idenfied in Roland's paintings. These include belonging (as an artist and individual), interconnectedness and conformity. He is also fascinated by the creation
of history. The consumption of one society by another appears repeatedly in his body of works. Roland's paintings stress that "civilization" is built on the fragments of older, arguably more
primitive societies. This is used as a psychological metaphor where civilization acts as the rational conscious usurping the place of the more primitive subconscious thought.
The subconscious/conscious struggle depicted throughout Roland's work highlights another core aspect of his paintings. He constantly explores dualism and the individual's attempt to define
his place within a world of opposing forces. The polarities embedded in his paintings take many forms and include light and dark, ignorance and knowledge, the invidual and the society, and
the historical past (and its construction) and the present. His juxtaposition of primitive symbols - such as snakes and neolithic style figures - and contemporary symbols (including pop culture
rabbits) - are a prominent example of this concern. These opposites, which affect both the artist and viewer, signify the constant pull of the conscious and subconscious on the individual.
Jeff Roland's paintings are not limited to a dualistic world view. The artist firmly believes that between the two most extreme points there are many universes and infinite possibilities. As
such his works record the fluid transition from one state of being to another.

Dr Melissa Westbrook Ph.D June 2010


"Jeff Roland is talking to your guts ... 
nothing is fixed in his paintings, nor explained. Enigmatic entanglements of faces, hands living on their own and
. ..the Rabbit . This disturbing artefact of childhood is fighting complacency and naivety , by imposing itself in a world of adults who are lost in odd truths. Without a look
at each other, everyone assumes his loneliness in an abysmal universe of constellated colours. The ochred sulphur, the warm blues, the reddish greens cannot help the human, lost in
uncertainties and multiple universes

Jeff Roland is an inspired dissident"

Nadine Servant June 2010

Recent exhibitions :
La Cour des Grands (Metz,France May 2009) solo show
Al Vecchio Ponte (Bracciano, Roma, Italy, July 2009) solo show
Chateau Corbin (Liverdun,France Sept 2009) group show
Centre des Arts Pablo Picasso (Blenod les PAM,France Oct 2009) group show
Brick Lane Gallery (London,U.K Jan 2010). group show
Art Cohousing Girasole (Roma,Italy Mar 2010) solo show
Salon d'art Contemporain Palm Beach (Cannes,France, Apr 2010) group show
The Museum of Everything exhibition 2 , Tate Modern ( London, UK, May 2010) group show
Les Métamorphosées, Musée de la Halle St Pierre ( Paris, France, June 2010 ) group show
Galerie L'Art à Part Espace Nadine Servant ( Ollioules, France, June 2010) group show
Blowin' in the wind Festival – Galeri Vox (Halden, Norvège, Sept 2010) group show
Jeff Roland à l'Université de Nancy (Nancy, France, Janvier 2011) solo show
Nice, Villa Magdalena , France
Frenchtown, Outsider Art Gallery, NJ, USA
Liverdun, Chateau Corbin,France
Luminarte Gallery, Dallas, Texas, USA
Metz,Maison Rabelais, France
Chiang Mai University Museum, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Outsider Festival, Adelaide, Australia.
Galerie Nesle, Paris, France

Museum Collections :

The Museum of Everything, London, U.K
Davis Museum, Barcelona, Spain
Museum of Young Art - MOYA - , Vienna, Austria
Outsider Festival Museum, Adelaide, Australia

Private Collections :

France, Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Canada,...

Jeff Roland is represented by James Harper Gallery, Ormond Beach, Florida, USA

Part of the Neo-Outsiders Group www.neo-outsiders.com

You are more than welcome to visit my professionnal website in order to get to know me better : www.jeffroland.org