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By Felicia Persaud |
Escoffery says he felt he had to make his own contribution to the victims of the horrific terrorist attack. So, in conjunction with the Wall Street Coalition, he created "Think Liberty," a piece that inspired posters, which are currently being sold to aid 9/11 victims.
The celebrated artist is also planning his return to the art scene with an impressive body of works. His current pieces reflect his experiences and the influences of his visits to different cultures. Following his time-off in 1999, Escoffery traveled extensively across North America, Europe and Asia.
His works now reflect more focus with less concern on style. His message is subliminal with sensitivity for his subjects.
Escoffery, however, remains true to his favorite subject - the female form. He shows an understanding of the physical as well as the emotional and spiritual sides of women. Escoffery's recent bronze sculptures are studies in movement and forms, of a figure frozen in time and space.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica to parents who were also artists, Escoffery reminisces on receiving paint-brushes, paints and general art supplies as Christmas gifts. It was this early encouragement that Escoffery says convinced him at the early age of 10 that he wanted to pursue a career in art.
Later, in his 20s, he migrated to the United States.
But he never lost sight of his goals. Today, his work adds a touch of grace to the walls of congress and United States embassies in over 40 countries. His work is now a thriving business, yet Escoffery stresses that the importance of success is not financial as much as it is creative.
He's won numerous awards for his work including several from the United States government. Escoffery has also been awarded a doctorate degree.
But he remains humble. "Awards are just icing on the cake," he says, flashing his trademark wide grin. "They point the direction I should go and remind me of where I've been."
His philosophy is simple, yet profound: "You can do anything you want even if the world says you can't."
Like his heroes, Picasso, Jacob Lawrence and Romari Beardson, Escoffery is also cutting a path for himself. His art transcends boundaries as he captures the essence of provocative sexual pleasures or the beauty of the female form. Yet, he is also deep into the history of his people, capturing them on canvas with his spectacular, "400 Years Of My People," a graphic composition on the odyssey of Africans to the Americas.
Other spectacular pieces include "Mother & Son," and "Circle of Love," which details his belief in women as the symbol of courage and strength in the black society.
His "Moonlight Lovers," "The Lovers," and "Amor And Psyche," captures the age-old dance of the jungle; in "Embrace," he strives to encapsulate in one canvas, the intensity of unbridled human passion, while in "Swan Song," and Whisper," Escoffery is enamored by the beauty of the human form.
Escoffery has also spread his wings into film. He recently debuted as a movi
e
producer after receiving a grant to produce his first film, "Still
Waters." As the executive producer, he worked closely with
the New York University Film School. But his ambitions did not
stop there. He also debuted as a director with his second film,
a full-length feature, "Georgia on My Mind," which
was shown at the Cannes Film Festival this year and received
praise for the quality under a first-time director. Like his paintings, his movies are filled with symbolism and the rich colors of a painter's palette.
However, Escoffery remains true to his first love painting and sculpting. He'll make a grand return to the exhibition scene with his new body of work, scheduled for October at the Savacou Gallery in Manhattan. This will be followed by a major showing in November at the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, D.C. In December, Escoffery is scheduled to return to Jamaica for a private exhibition, his first in 8 years. And from December, 2002, to January, 2003, he will be in Bucharest, Romania.
The painter, sculptor, movie producer and director has now spread his wings further to encompass another spectrum of the art field fiction writing. He is currently writing his first novel 'Sins of the Father,' a murder mystery, scheduled for publication in the spring of 2003.