Atlanta artist Corey Barksdale new exhibition the Art of Transition demonstrates a exploration of various styles of painting from traditional acrylic painting to aerosol art.

Barksdale’s work is seen in art shows across the U.S. Not only do his paintings hang in clubs, businesses and private collections, his striking large-scale murals have also brought him a lot of attention and numerous commissions. He recently completed a 30 foot-high mural for the Beltline, Atlanta’s ambitious urban redevelopment project. Rob Brawner, the project’s program director, was impressed and had this to say, “Corey was able to bring the Atlanta Beltline alive through his colorful interpretation of the project.”

Inspired by music, Barksdale often listens to jazz greats Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane while working, creating more than 30 paintings with a jazz theme. “Coltrane is improvisational, but with a structure to his sound,” he explains. This can be said of Barksdale’s art as well. His paintings are combinations of colorful, flowing lines that seem to dance and move across the canvas. There is an almost liquid feeling to his work and yet it all comes together to create a nightclub jam session, dancers striking a pose, or a busy street scene. Some of Barksdale’s paintings are close-ups of musicians in performance. “I love the facial expressions of musicians when they are under the spell of the music,” he says. “Their faces show their concentration and intensity.”

Barksdale also studied video editing and sees technology as another way to share his art. He has created a number of video performances of his painting process set to music. On his YouTube channel you can watch a fascinating collaboration with photographer Lawrence Andrade, which shows him painting a street mural in time-lapse photography. “I want my art to connect with people and I want it to be seen by people who might not get to a gallery very often,” he explains.

The Art of Transition is a exploration of various art mediums and a new style of painting which Barksdale has experimented with for the past year. Incorporating Barksdale's refined fine art paintings with raw urban street art.

“I’m an avid people watcher and seeing people interacting in urban environments is usually pretty interesting. I recently stood on the corner of Marietta and Peachtree and saw so many intricate displays of human kindness along with thievery, aggression, and exploitation. This interest me because there are so many possible roles we can play in society. I have recently been inspired to develop a street art style of painting because it captures the raw essence of what's happening in the city. ”