Jase Kala

Lives and works in Berlin, Germany

Artist statement

JASE KALA INSTAGRAM: @jase_kala [email protected] JASE KALA ARTIST STATEMENT Having grown up in New York, I have always absorbed the environment around me: graffiti, skyscrapers, glass edifices, and screeching trains have all placed themselves at the heart of my practice. Sketching tired faces and bodies on the subway to and from school added another layer to my observations. Extracting excerpts of structures and juxtaposing or layering them with the human body helps me better understand our living environment. I am also fascinated by the subconscious impact cities aesthetically have on our lives, how we are directed, disrupted, guided, interjected by tall facades, stairs, bridges, towers, tunnels, etc. Graffiti, a quick, impulsive, ubiquitous type of ‘art’ on the walls around us, persistently influences our subconscious - and provides an odd sense of familiarity to the archive of the metropolis. For me, it is not just meaningless scribbles, or a depiction of ego - graffiti is an attempt at being heard - or rather, seen. Following the line of my hand, I connect myself with the citizens of the city, one moment, one fragment at a time. While architecture and the rich patina of street art still carries a central role in my silkscreen works, my practice over the past three years has expanded, following a yearning for a deeper understanding of the earth: much of my recent work draws inspiration from islands that I will never visit. This fascination with bodies of land that...

Artwork