Brian Jerome
About the Create! Magazine 10th Anniversary Book: Create! Magazine is honored to celebrate a decade of contemporary art by publishing a look back at previously selected artists: their achievements, career growth, and more since being published. Stay tuned for the book launch in fall 2026, and join our newsletter to stay up to date.
Brian Jerome, featured in both Create! Magazine and the Create! Magazine10th Anniversary Book, is a mixed media painter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his BFA in Printmaking from Tyler School of Art in 2013 and MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2017. He has maintained his ongoing studio practice within Philadelphia.
His work is derived from the structural limits of verbal and written language, as well as the limits of language to communicate subjective life experiences and trauma, not just his own, but to bridge a connection to others that they are not alone in their experiences.
He grew up heavily influenced by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Alex Ross, and Todd McFarlane, along with many other comic book artists. Ralph Steadman, Mark Rothko, Cy Twombly, and Robert Ryman have also influenced him through their approaches to paint, texture, and simplicity. Anthony Bourdain's honesty and sincerity in finding common ground and understanding with others also influences him.
Jerome's work has been shown in Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Luxembourg, Paris, and Miami Art Week. Collected works reside throughout the United States, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, and Canada. He has collaborated with Veronica Beard in over 10 locations, most notably being the focal point of their flagship store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. He has been published in Create! and many other publications listed in his CV.
Artist Statement
The work speaks for the artist’s inability to properly express anything linguistically, verbally, or conversationally outside of visual representation. The artist allows the viewer to determine their own judgment and interpretation of the work.
I do not consider my work to be about trauma, but it is based around it. Writing artist statements has always been difficult for me. I previously thought I had to be academic and philosophical to create an open-ended and inviting approach for an audience.
I consider my work to be about life and my experience as a human. It is an abstract, diaristic approach to discussing things I find difficult to be vulnerable about.
In 2010, I fell five stories through an abandoned building and was left in a medically induced coma for ten days. When I woke up, I learned that I had almost died, my femurs were broken, I had lost all hearing in my right ear, and the last ten days of my memory were hallucinations. That experience resulted in complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder alongside my previously diagnosed Bipolar II disorder.
I found abstraction as a way to comfort and process these experiences. Painting and mixed media became a mindful approach to dealing with overwhelming thoughts. I know I am not alone in navigating the confusing nature of life. In fact, I consider myself lucky compared to the suffering that others endure. However, I cannot ignore the fact that we all face hardships, no matter how big or small.
My hope is that my work serves not just as my own diary and therapy but as an invitation for discussion—so that each of us can acknowledge that life is difficult and often even harder to explain.
brianjerome.com
