At first glance the artwork of San Francisco-based artist Jason Jägel looks jumbled, chaotic, and almost intimidating in the way that they dare you to look deeper. Which makes his work, to me at least, a perfect reflection of the complexities of society in this Twenty-first Century, with it’s information overload and layers upon layers of 24/7 news, images, sensations and feelings. Like life in these ultra-modern times, there’s a lot going on here, almost too much to comprehend at first. As such, the viewer is rewarded with repeated, closer inspection of his work.
Working mostly in gouache, ink and pencil on paper, his comic book influences are evident. In his words, “Employing the syntax of comics and the language of painting, I seek the creation of open-ended signs: where my imagination response is multiple, slippery and perpetually in motion.”
Layered, complex, humorous, daunting but ultimately engaging and thought-provoking, ladies and gentlemen, here’s the multi-layered art of Jason Jägel.
Stephen Kelly Creative 
Awesome work! I love it.
Hey there … thanks for dropping by! Yah … cool stuff, huh? Glad you liked!
You’re right. Repeated visits are necessary! I love it.
Hi Angeline! I’m still mulling over some of these works. They’re deep on a few different levels.
I know I’ve said before that something reminded me of Joan Miro, but in “Sleepwalking,” “Stating the Obvious,” and “Burnt by the Sun” here, and a lot of the others, the way depth and depth perspective are indicated by the way the items are place on the page also remind me of Miro. Am I crazy, or do I just see Miro (one of my favorites) everywhere?
Hi Victoria! Yes! Hehe … no, you’re not crazy. I can definitely see Joan Miro in those three works. I see a lot of other influences in his art. Still, he’s pretty original in his own right.
This one .. again, I have to leave to the professionals…. this I can’t find anything in what so ever.
Not even color appeal to me – but thanks for sharing and I’m truly happy that others like it .. because if we all liked the same thing, what a mess … thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend, already waiting on your next artist – you have a great eye.
That’s okay! Let’s see what I can conjure up for next week!
I appreciate your thoughtful introduction to Jagel’s work. He definitely includes a lot of social commentary in his work. When I see work like this, I really want to know the individual behind the work. Does this reflect who he is, his world view, or just what he sees? To what extent can an artist who wants to communicate a message be subjective? Probably as much as scientists and journalists – to some extent depending on self-awareness and intellectual awareness of bias. As always, your pick of artists stimulated my brain. 🙂 Does your pick of artists reflect who you are, your world…
Hi Pat … interesting questions and concepts. Like you, I’m always wondering what thought processes went on in the creation of something, whether it’s art, movies, music, writing, and how much of the individual’s beliefs/opinions went into it, subliminal or not. I have a feeling this particular artist embeds of lot of his own feelings into the density of this work.
I’ll let you continue to ponder the answer to that last question, my friend!
A thought has just come to my mind… Are you a professional art critic, Stephen? This introduction into Jagel’s work made me think so :O. I love it even more than the displayed images 😉
Hi Paula! Thanks for that, but no … I just love looking at, analyzing and writing about interesting art. No art criticism training here, but it’s something I’d love to do!
🙂
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