#NashvilleGulch

Jason Woodside's art in the Nashville Gulch

Jason Woodside painted one half of the masterpiece wall located in the Gulch, next to Ian Ross's creation that serves as a backdrop in a paid parking lot in the upscale Nashville neighborhood.  Woodside is a New York based artist that uses color blocking to create visual interest in walls and canvasses.  He's painted in Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles, Miami and of course Nashville, to bring saturated color into urban dwellings.  Woodside also owns Happy Bones Café in New York City to spread happiness through not only his art, but also with a dose of caffeine.  He aims to evoke feelings through his art.  Geometric designs, clean lines, and bold bright colors dominate his work, a 21st century take on Mondrian.  He even cuts out his own templates in cardboard and other materials to perpetuate his vision.  With a background in film, Woodside has a deep understanding of format and pushes for more artistic license in large cities.  His art fits perfectly into the Gulch, with the technicolor tracking symbolic of the railroad tracks that graced the neighborhood's past.

Art by J Woodside

On the other half of the wall, Ian Ross took a different approach.  Rather than crisp, clean lines, Ross painted flowing lines of pastels interspersed with black and white.  The color palette of green, yellow, and blues are more subdued to its counterpart, eliciting a more fluid energy.  Ross's approach to art is responsive; he encounters each canvas without an agenda, letting the landscape determine the outcome.  The result is an abstract piece created in the moment, with Ross getting lost in the paint strokes.  His piece creates an interesting foil to Woodside's neighboring artwork.  In contrast to Woodside's clean line and geometric shapes, Ross creates dynamic figures to create a sense of movement.  Both pieces, however, take on a life of their own to infuse vibrancy into Nashville's Gulch.

Ian Ross's art in the Nashville Gulch

Art by Ross