Current Exhibition
SOLO SHOW SELECTION 2022
Handful of Dream-Dust
June 10 - August 7, 2022
April 8 - June 5, 2022
- Opening Reception: Friday, April 8, from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Kaiser Gallery presents Handful of Dream-Dust a solo exhibit by Cleveland artist Jonah Jacobs, on view at Kaiser Gallery from June 10 to August 7.
A local treasure within Cleveland’s art scene, Jonah Jacobs, explores themes of beauty, complexity, and eco-consciousness to create works that are simultaneously thought-provoking and visually stunning. Born in Denmark, and a graduate of Antioch College, he is also an Army veteran who served in S. Korea and in the 82nd Airborne Division, gaining invaluable experience and insight into different perspectives and ways of thinking.
Jacobs’ large-scale pieces combine thousands of individual geometric shapes to create mesmerizing forms that reference fractal patterns, bio colonies, and other complex systems. Jacobs merges creativity with science in an innovative way, to create artworks that explore ideas about order, chaos, growth, decay, and life cycles - the pervasive yet elusive forces that shape our world. Jacobs also treats every exhibition as an opportunity to teach and inspire others how to create artwork that is more environmentally friendly by utilizing unexpected materials for his large-scale art installations, such as cardboard, egg cartons, yarn, quinoa, oatmeal, dryer sheets, and other textiles to name a few.
A local treasure within Cleveland’s art scene, Jonah Jacobs, explores themes of beauty, complexity, and eco-consciousness to create works that are simultaneously thought-provoking and visually stunning. Born in Denmark, and a graduate of Antioch College, he is also an Army veteran who served in S. Korea and in the 82nd Airborne Division, gaining invaluable experience and insight into different perspectives and ways of thinking.
Jacobs’ large-scale pieces combine thousands of individual geometric shapes to create mesmerizing forms that reference fractal patterns, bio colonies, and other complex systems. Jacobs merges creativity with science in an innovative way, to create artworks that explore ideas about order, chaos, growth, decay, and life cycles - the pervasive yet elusive forces that shape our world. Jacobs also treats every exhibition as an opportunity to teach and inspire others how to create artwork that is more environmentally friendly by utilizing unexpected materials for his large-scale art installations, such as cardboard, egg cartons, yarn, quinoa, oatmeal, dryer sheets, and other textiles to name a few.
Artist Statement
Having grown up and lived most of my life in Cleveland, I have stood before and crossed over the Cuyahoga River countless times. For nearly eighty-five miles this murky winding river snakes through multiple counties finally spilling its greenish-brown water into Lake Erie. This river is seared into every Clevelander’s imagination. We know it caught fire numerous times and that’s its name comes from Native American origins. We know that countless ships have and continue to navigate its narrow birth in an endless cycle of picking up and delivering raw materials. We know it divides West from East. The river seems ancient and immovable. It was there before you were born, before I was born, and will continue to be there after our deaths.
But is it actually a river? Surely it is, but most definitions of a river contain some reference to a river being a “naturally” flowing watercourse. What is natural? What does it mean to be a naturally flowing river? Has nature been so altered by human activity that there is nothing left that is natural? What is nature and what is natural are just a couple of questions my artwork grapples with. River’s ebb and flow, consistently flooding their banks. New offshoots emerge and old ones dry up. Rivers meander as they slowly cut their way through soil and earth. As the Cuyahoga River approaches Cleveland however, it becomes hemmed in by pilings and is dredged to maintain a navigable depth for ships.
In 1827 the mouth of the river, where it flows into Lake Erie was moved 4000 feet in order to make it more navigable for shipping. The last leg of the river is controlled, maintained, and altered. Obviously not natural and more of a shipping channel as opposed to a river that ebbs and flows over time. My artwork doesn’t focus on geographical locations but instead uses up-cycled materials as conversations starters about what it means to be natural, the consequences of our waste streams, pollution, global warming, impermanence, and how with a little creativity we can use upcycled and waste materials to create beautiful and unique works of art. In the past few years, I have been learning and incorporating environmentally sustainable art practice as part and parcel of how I create my work.
But is it actually a river? Surely it is, but most definitions of a river contain some reference to a river being a “naturally” flowing watercourse. What is natural? What does it mean to be a naturally flowing river? Has nature been so altered by human activity that there is nothing left that is natural? What is nature and what is natural are just a couple of questions my artwork grapples with. River’s ebb and flow, consistently flooding their banks. New offshoots emerge and old ones dry up. Rivers meander as they slowly cut their way through soil and earth. As the Cuyahoga River approaches Cleveland however, it becomes hemmed in by pilings and is dredged to maintain a navigable depth for ships.
In 1827 the mouth of the river, where it flows into Lake Erie was moved 4000 feet in order to make it more navigable for shipping. The last leg of the river is controlled, maintained, and altered. Obviously not natural and more of a shipping channel as opposed to a river that ebbs and flows over time. My artwork doesn’t focus on geographical locations but instead uses up-cycled materials as conversations starters about what it means to be natural, the consequences of our waste streams, pollution, global warming, impermanence, and how with a little creativity we can use upcycled and waste materials to create beautiful and unique works of art. In the past few years, I have been learning and incorporating environmentally sustainable art practice as part and parcel of how I create my work.