Middlebrook creates abstract forms, graphic patterns, and geometric shapes on cut and carved tree trunks. In recent years, he has also created pictorial and illustrative works that combine his wood art motifs with personal experiences.
Jason Middlebrook was born in Jackson, Michigan in 1966. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. He also completed an Independent Study Program at The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Middlebrook's art combines natural forms and found objects with references to abstractionists of the 20th century. His signature works involve carving and shaping tree trunks into canvases for geometric compositions that reference works by artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Bridget Riley, and Frank Stella. He has also created assemblages from concrete-cast bottles and mobiles made of wooden scraps that pay homage to Alexander Calder.
In his earlier works created in New York, he focused on repurposing materials, while his more recent works created in Hudson, New York, incorporate wood from his surroundings. He creates abstract forms, graphic patterns, and geometric shapes on cut and carved tree trunks. In recent years, he has also created pictorial and illustrative works that combine his wood art motifs with personal experiences.
Middlebrook has had solo exhibitions at various galleries in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Austin, and Milan. His works have also been featured in group exhibitions at various museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and are held in collections worldwide.
Currently, Middlebrook lives and works in Hudson, NY.