Jason Zickler: The Process
Read Jason Zickler’s artist statement and you’ll immediately understand that for him, it’s about the process. Heavily influenced by post World War II abstract expressionism, Zickler his a keen eye in bringing aesthetic order to chaos, all the while maintaining a sort of loose gestural effect.
With a style reminiscent of Gerhard Richter or perhaps Jackson Pollock, Zickler’s work boasts layer upon layer of mesmerizing and almost accidental pulled pattern work. These layered patterns pull the viewer along with themselves into a scene of mixed media depth and palpable color filled with equally deep textural nuances. In his work, Zickler begins with a canvas on his studio floor where he constructs what is typically an acrylic composition. He then builds up from this point multiple layers of acrylic and an epoxy resin that serves to increase depth of the piece as its shine juxtaposes with the matte medium. During the drying process, Zickler will set the piece upright and allow gravity to create the previously mentioned pattern work. “I focus on the spontaneous and subconscious creation of my work by laying canvases on my studio floor, and physically applying paint from all four sides using a variety of techniques including throwing, pouring, scraping, and brushing,” Zickler said, “I typically let the physical act of painting guide the direction of each piece.”
Armed with a rich heritage of inspiration dating back to the 1940s, Zickler explained, “[Inspiration] is a giant concept to me that I am not sure I completely have an answer to, or even understand. One thing I can say for sure is that painting is an Obsession to me. Obsession with a capital “O.” I obsess about unfinished paintings in my studio, comments people make about my work, music I listen to while I create work, the famous abstract expressionist painters of the 40s and 50s, the business of selling art, and the creative process demonstrated by people like Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Somehow it all impacts when I start and when I finish painting.”
Zickler’s work has been featured across the United States, specifically in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. His work is also collected nationwide.
Zickler’s show hangs through November 28 in Gallery No. 2.