Jeffrey Deane Hall

We live in an era flooded with information, yet the sheer volume often hinders our ability to process it all and extract meaning. In our contemporary pursuit of knowledge, there is just too much noise and not enough clarity.
My recent series of trompe l’oeil paintings explores this concept through stacked books viewed from above. The cropped edges of each book hint at partial knowledge and form flat abstracted planes of color and partial pieces of text, evoking the challenge of making sense of fragmented ideas.
These works also investigate the dangers of banning books and the threat censorship poses to intellectual freedom. Each painting focuses specifically on books challenged for addressing themes like gender identity, race, or the occult. These works serve as a reminder of how essential open access is to free expression and a civil and informed society.
Inspired by the abstractions of Josef Albers and Hans Hofmann, as well as William Harnett’s illusionistic trompe l’oeil paintings, I aim to balance naturalism and abstraction. Through this approach, I explore how information overload—and censorship—can obscure truth and stifle the pursuit of wisdom.

Master Degree, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, 2005

B.A. in Studio Arts, University of Richmond, 1994

PUBLICATIONS
2022 “New American Paintings”, issue #160
2012 “New American Paintings”, issue #100

EXHIBITIONS & RESIDENCIES

2026

2026 ArtFields, Lake City, SC

2026 Mid-Atlantic Juried Show, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA

2026 Bethesda Painting Awards: finalists exhibition, Gallery B, Bethesda, MD

2025

Playing with Fire, ArtSpace Gallery, Richmond, VA

Interwoven: Spring + Summer Residency Group Exhibition, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA

Studio Access Spring + Summer Residency, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA

2025 Bethesda Painting Awards: finalists exhibition, Gallery B, Bethesda, MD

2025 ArtFields, Lake City, SC

Books and Art: Celebrating 100 Years at the Charles H. Taylor, Group exhibition featuring seven of my works, Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, Hampton, VA

2024

2024 ArtFields, Lake City, SC

Radius 250, ArtSpace Gallery, Richmond, VA - Honorable Mention

Mid-Atlantic New Painting 2024, Ridderhof Martin Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA

FALC 29th Annual Juried Exhibition, Page-Walker Arts and History Center, Cary, NC

2023

2023 Virginia Artists Exhibition, Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, Hampton, VA

Bethesda Painting Awards: finalists exhibit...