Schlomer Haus Gallery is pleased to present Josh Cloud’s debut solo show Bearing. With six paintings and nine sculptures, Cloud creates a cohesive display, intertwining ceramic sculpture with wood, fiber, granite, and pine needles presented alongside paintings to form a
heartfelt survey of contemporary life.
Bringing his work together for the first time, Cloud plays between abstraction and figuration, linking through time modes of expression that look beyond realism into emotive and raw states of being. Utilizing layering techniques across mediums and influences, Cloud builds a complex show that emulates the way we create and construct identity. The layering of materials serves as a reminder of the layering of elements that make us who we are, but can also confine us and weigh us down. Bearing reminds viewers that “the very things that define us can also swallow us.”
The multidisciplinary artist explores the concept of weight, navigating the different kinds of weights we carry as individuals. From there, Cloud begins a study of identity that draws upon his own experiences as a child, carrying
emotional weight and being afraid to let others know that the burden felt so heavy. Fusing contemporary cartoon taste with elements of art from West Africa and Indigenous American Art, Cloud addresses identity personally and from an all-encompassing approach, using his own experience as a Black Queer artist to inform the work. This debut body of work solidifies Cloud’s place as an artist and a voice on the rise, uniting sculpture and painting for a holistic vision.
Having begun his career as an animator, Cloud’s trajectory changed when he started to work in ceramics. Finding that the clay gave him the peace of mind he had been searching for and unable to find elsewhere, he eventually expanded into several other fine art mediums. Now, his sketchbook serves as the anchor for his practice. Filling up book after book, Cloud uses the drawings as source material for sculpture and painting, the latter of which he began showing for the first time last month.
The show is active and thought-provoking. Splashes of vibrant color contrast a muted base palette, highlighting the dichotomy of oil paint and clay. Figuration and abstraction push and pull in Cloud’s work, resulting in an exhibition that is in conversation with itself, and with the viewer.
Bearing is an exploration of understanding, of perseverance, of struggle, and most importantly, the hope that brews within it.
