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Jesse Klassen

An Abstract State of Mind
Artist Statement

Ritual creative action surrounds the artist at every turn, infecting their unique view, their power over the material, and ultimately their dramatic mindset as a creative. As an artist the repetition of form, color, technique, and design can offer an incredible amount of insight and understanding into the mysteries of abstract meditation. Through these acts of repetition we enter a form of artistic ritual creation transforming our work, our work place, and ourselves as we seek deeper understanding.

The first iteration of the common figure in these images came about a number of years ago as nothing more than a decoration on a canvas. Over time this figure evolved, becoming a point of religious fixation. As the character evolved it became more than mere decoration, taking on a contemporary symbolic meaning that added both clarity and confusion to my images. Presenting itself as a reference to religious or spiritual identity, this figure claimed my art as a space for ritual expression asking questions around spiritual identity and the role of ritual action. What does this character represent when it is solitary, verses depicted in multiples?
How is this figure seen when the scale of its depiction is manipulated? Over time I have come to enjoy and even crave the studio creation of these figures longing for a new iteration to add to this growing archive.

I have reproduced this character hundreds of times, eventually it will be thousands, at what point did it crossover from being an artistic curiosity to an artistic ritual action and when will that ritual action become a kind of religious devotion?

Biography

Graduating in 2018 with his BFA from the University of the Fraser Valley and currently  pursuing his MFA at the University of Calgary, Jesse explores themes around spiritual and religious identity in the 21st century.

Working in a wide array of visual media including painting, sculpture, and performance, Jesse approaches art making through ritualistic production. His works bring into service abstraction, surrealism, symbology, and theology to engage in visual storytelling and spiritual exploration. Through his creative synthesis, Jesse aims to explore the connections between art making and religious devotion ultimately disseminating new knowledge concerning the ‘ritual act’ inherent to artistic creation.

Find Jesse online: 
Instagram: 
@j.klassen.artspot