Justin Varner

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Tuskless Towers

Charcoal and pastel on paper,

51" x 50 1/2"

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Otis & Everything

Charcoal and pastel on paper,

50" x 50 1/2"

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Bone Collector

Charcoal and pastel on paper,

48" x 47 1/2"

Friday, May 22, 2009

Neverend Park

Charcoal, pastel, and graphite on paper,

49" x 50"

Friday, May 15, 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Labor

Charcoal and Pastel on paper,

30 1/2" x 32"

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Friday, March 6, 2009

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Woman of the Street (Port Arthur, TX)

Charcoal on paper,

25" x 22"

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Rambo

Charcoal on paper,

16 3/4" x 15 1/4"

Life in Port Arthur, TX

Stray Dogs, Boarded Up Windows, Fast Food Debris, Old English Malt Liquor Bottles, Used Diapers, Restaurants that Live a Month, Dead Cars, Cigarette Butts Mixed with Tainted Leaves, Rusted Hubcaps, Sadistic Mosquitoes, Stretched Condoms, Good Will’s Children’s Toys, and the Endless Brown/Gray Attitude of the Oxygen Varner inhales are the objects and elements he tries to ignore everyday. This environment and the people that produce and circulate within, helplessly make themselves present in the art Varner makes. They say “hello, here I am, take me or leave me, what do you care?” in his translation. Characters of no particular race or a combination of races share a common presence of degradation, sickness, and acceptance of circumstance.Varner witness' his subjects in a place called Port Arthur, Texas. A once thriving coastal community that declined to what it is now by political corruption, bouts with hurricanes, gang violence, prostitution, and the inability to repair itself amongst the uncaring leaders of this minority dominated population, is a place without the leisurely accommodations of many American towns, but with unrelenting character that has transformed his work entirely. What excites Varner, brings empathy, evaluation, and darkly enough- some humor, are the environments in which these people occupy and ultimately accept (and in some cases, he believes, cherish) and how they operate within them. Their actions are not unique, you can find these activities in many places, but here there is something more pathetic because there is no upside. This is not a place to breathe fresh-air (due to the refineries), it is a tropical environment with all the annoyance of humidity, mosquitoes, reptiles and snakes, but there is not a beach in which to repay your suffering. African-Americans, Vietnamese, Hispanics and Cajuns all occupy this small land, but there are no venues to display their rich cultures and bring everyone together. There are schools in which to study, but no bookstores or cafés to exchange ideas. What you get are gas stations, liquor stores, and shanty eateries on the brink of failure. You find people spending their paycheck on lottery tickets, booze, and sex. Men walk into convenient stores shirtless and leave with a brown bag. Women walk the streets and ride away in a pick-up. Children laugh with drugs in their pockets and cash in hand, displaying good-bye hand gestures in the way of gang-signs. All of these observations penetrate Varner's brain and he feels they must be passed on for others to view. We understand that all of this is a reality and it must be faced somehow. We ultimately accept the life and keep on moving forward, hoping that we in no way will be shirtless with a homemade tattoo.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Friday, May 22, 2009

Friday, May 15, 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Friday, March 6, 2009

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Life in Port Arthur, TX

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