Giroux spraying a sculptural cut out with Montana spray paint.
Artist and designer Jay Giroux screen printing a shirt in his studio.
Giroux painting fine lines.

Jay Giroux is an artist, designer, and educator based in Tampa, FL.

Get in touch with him via email, or follow him on instagram.

Jay's approach to painting.

Jay’s recent paintings involve a continued exploration of incidental gestures and lowbrow symbolism culled from the urban streetscape. The source material is gathered from scavenging the streets (Ybor City, FL is a staple) for hedonistic remnants: club wristbands, flyers distressed from exposure to the elements, and discarded detritus are favorites. During these pedestrian excursions, he photographs specific situations to be used later as the possible catalyst for paintings.

He mostly avoids loaded subject matter (dolphins, smiley faces, words), opting for imagery that lends itself to subjective interpretation (generic patterns, graphic gestures, abstracted figures). Balancing elements of popular culture with high formalism has been a reoccurring theme throughout his decade-long practice, however, during the last two years he has relied less on representation and more on non-objective forms.

In the studio, he processes his inspiration through thumbnail sketches and digital drawings that are printed for reference. This reference is a starting point, from which the process often dictates the direction a painting may go or abruptly end. There is a level of risk in this layered process that he finds exciting and sometimes defeating.

He sees painting as a non-threatening response to his conscious and subconscious need to communicate. He describes it as ‘a way to celebrate the beauty in the inherent failures of civilized society’.

CV

An image of Giroux working on Magic Carpet Ride, a large scale acrylic painting.

Jay's approach to projects.

Jay spent the better part of 15 years honing skills in a broad spectrum of visual language—from painting, photography, and fine art printmaking, to digital media, environmental graphics, and installation.

It was far from a traditional path, and it helped him develop a layered understanding of how to reveal concept through image making, building depth, and elevating the consumer or creative experience. Today, he’s mashing up a range of skills and approaches into exceptional brand strategy, reading one page ahead of trend.

Founding Greater Public Studio in 2017 helped stitch those many languages into a wider vocabulary that speaks about the physical manifestation of ideas, bringing multifaceted composition, fabrication, and curatorial skills to focus on all types of custom projects.

Visit Greater Public Studio to see more of Giroux’s client work and commissioned projects.

Photography: George Goldberg