Jason Engelbart
Jason Engelbart is a contemporary artist whose digital abstract works, so-called ‘neo paintings’, make use of a compelling and distinctive aesthetic. The colorful marbling effects and a simultaneous all-encompassing blur are created in a purely intuitive creative process, where the artist deals with reflections of his personal feelings, experiences, and a meditative affinity with the universe. Engelbart taps into an artistic mode in which he uses his artistic capacity to trigger in others a deeper reflection on the nature of our daily coexistence. Colors and forms swirl together with an apparent motion, coinciding yet never lost, blended yet simultaneously holding shape. The movement in Engelbart's works takes the viewer with him and mirrors his own experience - and thereby makes him aware of the present moment.
The source of Engelbart’s group of works THE JOY OF BEING can be found in the opulent works of baroque painting from Giovanni Battista Tiepolo to Guido Reni and Johannes Zick. He is particularly fascinated by the playful use of light and color, the flowing forms, and the extraordinary opulent aura of these baroque works. On an emotional level, Engelbart is particularly affected by the religious and mythological scenes in the ceiling and wall paintings of this artistic epoch.
Jason Engelbart lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. His works have been shown in numerous national and international exhibitions, such as Amory Art Weeks New York, Art Basel Miami, Swiss Art Expo Zurich and have been honored with numerous international art awards.
Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you began creating art?
My artistic talent was already recognized and encouraged in my childhood and youth. Therefore, right after graduating from school, it was clear that I would follow this vocation and study at the academy ALSTERDAMM - SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS & DESIGN in Hamburg, Germany. In the following years, after successfully graduating from the academy, my professional focus was initially on design. Soon after I founded my own agency for design and advertising and built it up into a successful business. It was at the age of fifty that I once again asked myself the "question of sense" and shortly afterwards I revealed to my meanwhile three business partners my plan to leave the company to devote myself entirely to an individual career as a visual artist. With this decision, I laid the foundation for my current success as an artist. And looking back, I can say that I always chose the exact right path for myself at the right time. This fact alone fills me with gratitude and joy.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
I like to call my abstract works emotional peacemaker because they invite the viewer to withdraw from reality for a moment to devote himself to the unconscious – simply to pause for a moment in order to trace his own sacred peace of mind and to dwell in the now. All too often, our everyday life is characterized by the pursuit of the next everyday goals, the race against time and inner restlessness. Here lies my artistic approach, by bringing awareness to the viewer of my art that there is a higher goal for our life on earth and which I would like to describe with such terms as mindfulness, gratitude, peacefulness, and meaningfulness. Because all of this is laid out and retrievable deep in our soul and is only covered up by the hectic noise of everyday life. So let us create the space to reflect on these qualities of our self.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
I start the day with a short meditation of gratitude. Afterwards, I am enriched with positive energy for my respective daily tasks. These can be answering interview questions like right now ;-), preparing Instagram posts for the week, organizing a current exhibition, meetings with gallerists and of course working on a new artwork. Sources of inspiration for my artistic work are books about the art epochs of the Baroque and the Renaissance as well as, of course, the internet with its diverse informative offers. While working on a piece, I am emotionally deeply immersed, in absolute silence and concentration on the now. As soon as my thoughts drift off into the past or future, I stop the process to bring myself back into the present balance. That sounds very difficult? – It is. However, this form of concentration is the only way for me to consciously follow an emotional wave and let it flow into a work.
What is the essential element in your art?
Stylistically, my digital abstract neo paintings are based on Baroque and Renaissance masterpieces. The trigger for my abstract-baroque series of works was a visit to the Würzburg Residenz in Germany. Overwhelmed by the opulent ceiling frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Antonio Giuseppe Bossi and Johannes Zick inside the Baroque castle, a deep desire arose in me to mirror this splendor of spirituality in the form of an abstract translation into the present. I closed my eyes while looking at the exuberant works on the walls and ceilings, except for a narrow slit of vision, until the figurativeness of the paintings dissolved into abstraction. Thus, the foundation stone for my work cycle THE JOY OF BEING was laid.
Driven by my search for the perfect moment, the moment of perfect love, the divine, I trace these values especially in the masterpieces of the baroque art epoch. Using my characteristic digital painting technique, developed over the years, I abstract selected original baroque works by superimposing picture levels, blurring, overpainting, and re-composing them. In the work process, my very own flowing structures and pictorial rhythms emerge, while the original color composition remains largely untouched. In sum, color and form transform into a single aesthetic-abstract event that is experienced on a purely emotional level as a holy moment.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
In my view, cultural producers are an important link between politics, social development and cross-border, international exchange. With their work, they make an intercultural contribution in the form of innovative thought-provoking impulses, socio-political visions and socio-critical contents. Against this background, they bear a comprehensive responsibility for the cultural development of a society.
