Jack and I have always been in similar circles. I went to a few of the shows he's curated in the past. We have mutual friends such as Hunter Potter, West Bechler and Colin Lyon. All of whom are amazing artists. I have always admired his work so I asked to photograph him in his studio. I biked 10 miles from my place in South Brooklyn to his studio in the Maspeth area. Jack has a studio that he splits with three other artists. His work is colorful, playful, and striking. It encompasses a perfect mesh of precision and effortlessness. Around his studio, I saw paintings of basketballs, tabs of LSD and people embracing one another. All paintings touching on the expectations and perceptions of masculinity in popular American culture.
I watched him paint a piece that he will release along with a series of similar paintings. He carefully painted over mistakes with a small brush. To finish off our session he used spray paint to dust the canvas from afar. His approach was confident and very touch and go. All and all it was very entertaining and fascinating to watch Jack paint. In the wake of coronavirus his studio mates haven’t been in the studio so he has the big front door studio space to himself.
We ended up connecting on a bunch of topics relevant to our lives as contemporary artists in NYC. Such as the impact of graffiti, skateboarding and street culture to our growth as artists. Also bonding over our critiques of the subcultures and movements that we love.
Jack said his alone time painting has helped him become comfortable in his own skin. In sum, working on his craft has helped him embrace his sensitive and empathetic personality. Traits he formally viewed, through the lens of attending suburban catholic high school, as unmasculine and therefore, weak. We discussed his lifelong draw to New York and his eventual move here after attending college in Vermont.
We agreed that the people, especially artists, who leave their towns and thrive in New York positivity add to the social and artistic climate of the city. How our different upbringings ultimately lead us into similar paths with like minded ideals.