Jason Hackenwerth was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1970 and lives and works in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He has studied printmaking and painting and is currently working on a series of large-scale works.
How did you get into art?
Being an artist was less of a choice I made and more a realization that the only thing I wanted to spend my time doing was exploring the creative process.
How would you describe your style? What makes your work special?
My work likely falls into the popular new-ish Ultra-contemporary genre. Before shifting my artistic focus to painting a few years ago my practice was dominated by extremely unique large-scale ephemeral sculptures and installations that I approached like 3-d paintings.
How do you go about developing your work?
My work evolves intuitively. To get things going I’ll hit each canvas with a word or drawing in spray paint and then maybe wipe it partially away. This usually creates some interesting “first marks” from there each new layer will respond to what came before.
Who or what influences you?
My work is often influenced by events occurring in my life and the world. Working through these things offers catharsis. I find joyful balance both in the process and in the paintings themselves.
Make us curious. What is planned next?
I am currently working on a very ambitious series of large-scale paintings. The aim is for my over-sized paintings to add context to my sculptural practice and begin to see them exhibited together more frequently in museums and galleries around the world.
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