Darin Jones
Artist Statement
I create across diverse styles, techniques, and mediums as it’s the most authentic expression of who I am. My work moves between realism, surrealism, abstraction, typography, design, and photography—each satisfying my desire for variety and the freedom to follow what feels creatively alive.
Typography, geometry, and abstraction are the roots beneath my work. I confess, I’m obsessed with shapes, lines, movement, and the bizarre. Being raised in a black–and–white world of strict rules and expectations, I found my freedom of self–expression through 80s New Wave music, its fashion, and the intensity of dancing hard at the club. The color, rhythm, and expressive individuality of that era shaped the abstract and obscure qualities in my early work.
After high school, I drifted away from the colorful, abstract work that defined my early years. Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère later reignited my creative fire—its bold colors, surreal characters, costumes, and intoxicating music planting the seed for the expressive work that would return years later.
At a young age, the art of calligraphy captivated me with its expressive, elegant flow and decorative forms of line which continues to influence my typographic and graphic lines more than forty years later.
Early abstract illustrations began as blind contour drawings which allowed me to disconnect from my judgmental mind and engage a free, sensory–driven approach. While no longer central to my process, it helped cultivate the looseness and intuitive flow running through the vein of my work. Much of my creative philosophy—especially within Obscuratype™—is rooted in the idea of working with what you have. Resourcefulness often becomes the catalyst driving intuition, problem–solving, and unexpected creative breakthroughs.
I’m influenced by artists who embraced courage, expressiveness, and honesty in how they saw the world: Picasso, Matisse, Magritte, Modigliani, Escher, Warhol, Haring, and Miró. Their pursuit to innovate and create their own visual language is what has inspired and shaped my work.
Currently, my passions revolve around Obscuratype™, Surreallustrations™, Fresh & Op™, and abstract compositions. I’m also exploring a hybrid direction that merges my graphic and surreal drawings with photography, various backgrounds, and textures—allowing the two forms to interact in new ways. This meshing of mediums reflects a natural shift in my creativity: layered, interconnected, and continually evolving.
In every approach to my work, my intention is to follow my instincts, make what feels alive in me, and aligns with the expressive freedom I’ve cultivated throughout my life.
Bio
Darin Bradley Jones is a multi–disciplinary artist whose work spans realism, surrealism, abstraction, design, typography, and photography. With nearly five decades of creative exploration, he brings a distinct range of design sensibility and perspective to his work—creating visual languages which move fluidly between precision and imagination.
His bodies of work include Obscuratype™—a typographic–driven visual language; Surreallustrations™—a series merging surreal imagery with graphic illustration; and Fresh & Op™—his abstract pop–influenced designs. Darin is also known for his exquisite portraiture, where he is recognized for drawing the soul of his subjects and creating meaningful connections through graphite. His current explorations include hybrid works that combine graphic line, surreal drawing, photography, backgrounds, and textures.
Darin’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions in Utah—including his 40–year retrospective Roots in Retrospect (2017)—and in group shows in New York, Nevada, and Utah. His art and contributions have been featured on Utah’s Channel 4 News and in publications including Centennial Hills’ Magazine, City Weekly, Davis County Clipper, Q Salt Lake, and SLUG Magazine.
Born in Murray, Utah, in 1972, Darin earned his B.F.A. in Graphic Design, with honors, from Utah State University in 1998. His background in design continues to inform his sense of structure, composition, and visual continuity across all of his work.
To read what people have shared about Darin’s work, visit the Reviews page.