Jeffrey Norton

Artist Statement

I’m Jeffrey Norton, a self-taught artist living and working between New York and Old Greenwich, Connecticut, though I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. My work moves between figurative surrealism, abstraction, and sculptural assemblage generally concerned with the instability between outward appearance and interior life: composed surfaces, distorted bodies, symbolic forms, and signs of emotional pressure recur across the paintings and sculptures. I would describe it generally as capturing the tension between inner turmoil and the myth of outward appearance -- a theme that is especially visible in pieces such as Busyhead, Distortion, and Longing.
I work in acrylics, oils, spray paint, wood, welded steel, natural stone, and rebar, seeking a body of work that is broad and both psychologically and materially evocative. My paintings tend to be bold, graphic, and emotionally charged, while my sculptures use elemental materials to suggest balance, restraint, vulnerability, and endurance. Creativity and working with a variety of mediums provides me with focus, peace of mind, and a kind of solitude for an otherwise very active mind. Quite simply, art makes me happy. I’ve shown my work at Art in the Park in Greenwich, CT, juried exhibits, and I’ve sold pieces at shows, private events, and online through my website and Instagram. I look forward to continuing to grow as an artist, appearing at more exhibits and shows, and pushing the bounds of creativity in new directions. Outside the studio, I live in Connecticut with my wife and two dogs, and I’m proud of my two grown kids who are off on their own adventures in Colorado. When I’m not making art, I enjoy yoga, skiing, tennis, live music, word puzzles, reading, and DIY projects. I’m also an attorney focusing on securities and shareholder litigation as a partner at Newman Ferrara LLP in New York City, a legal consultant with Norton Esq. LLC, and an adjunct law professor at Pace University School of Law. Suffice to say, I keep myself busy.