Russell Shoemaker


It’s Not Everything, 2011, oil and ink on canvas

The Incumbent, 2010, oil on canvas, 72 x 49 in.

All Playing With The Same Cards, 2009, oil on canvas, 65 x 45 in. 

Looped, 2010, oil on canvas, 60 x 40 in.

Baby Boomerang, 2010, oil on diptych on panel 25 x 36 in.

Beach, 2010, oil on canvas, 50 x 80 in. 

Digital River, 2010, oil on canvas, 40 x 31 in. 

Artist Bio 

Russell Shoemaker graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in May 2009. He made work in San Francisco, California for a year before moving back to Kansas City to complete a residency at Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project.

Artist Statement 

When crafting a factual theory, where does the theory end and fiction begin? I am interested in painting consciousness at its most unstable, specifically by the way in which the mind is able to borrow a memory, experience, or image and shuffle it into its own factual biography.

My imagery strives to create a loop of participation with the viewer. I create environments that are evolutionary and primal, channeling traditionally transcendent Rousseau-ian landscapes while confusing the space in others with painted representations of literal barriers. I choose to explore the body in various states, be it complete, abstracted, or taking on an unusual form. I’m intrigued by the way flesh acts as a method of projection for the viewer’s own memory, and I attempt to literally bring the viewer into the work by utilizing a borrowed first person perspective.

I hope to create a grappling effect of hallucinogenic seduction that is able to push and pull without inflicting a specific biography, truth or fiction.

Russell Shoemaker’s Website




Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.