Jason Paterson is the current artist displaying art at Cafe Kopi in the south room. The pieces are large, glossy, and appaer to be painting of photographs. They are headshots of figures from the past and are both eerie and familiar at the same time.
From Paterson’s Facebook page bio:
Jason Paterson is an Illinois based artist whose work predominantly deals with African American history and other cultural & political subject significant to The United States. Patterson employs portraiture to chronicle people, places and events significant within American history and the African American narrative. He re-creates significant images from the past, with an original utilization of soft pastel. These works not only represent the people they depict but also the visual media that the original source image was created with. His work pays homage to, and signifies, the cultural and historical importance of photographs, film, and video — the technical tools we use to see and reference our past and, what we use to visually organize our culture.
Paterson’s Facebook page is interesting to look through. He has photos of works of art in progress and you’are able to see snapshots from his studio and his process.
