about the artist
Born in 1973 and raised a proud Hoosier, Jason has been heavily influenced by Japanese culture from a young age due to the time his grandparents spent in Osaka as missionaries after World War II. Jason’s mother was born in Japan, and her first words were in both languages. Jason was probably the only kindergartner in southern Indiana that came home from school and had ramen for lunch back in 1978.
Jason went on to excel in school, and with a heavy focus on the performing arts, he graduated at the top of his class in high school, and thereafter matriculated to the University of Pennsylvania.
Having always felt something missing in his life in Indiana and Pennsylvania, almost immediately after graduating college, Jason moved to Japan to begin what has been a lifelong journey of reconciling East versus West. His interest in performing arts gradually gave way to visual arts after a stint in stand-up comedy in Tokyo, in part because he loved painting, but more so because he wasn’t very funny.
After 23 years in Japan, Jason moved to Oregon on the US West Coast so that he could best maintain a bridge to Japan. Jason visits Japan often, and to this day still cannot pass up a baseball game, a cold lemon sour, and a plate of takoyaki.
Current Portfolio
Jason went on to excel in school, and with a heavy focus on the performing arts, he graduated at the top of his class in high school, and thereafter matriculated to the University of Pennsylvania.
Having always felt something missing in his life in Indiana and Pennsylvania, almost immediately after graduating college, Jason moved to Japan to begin what has been a lifelong journey of reconciling East versus West. His interest in performing arts gradually gave way to visual arts after a stint in stand-up comedy in Tokyo, in part because he loved painting, but more so because he wasn’t very funny.
After 23 years in Japan, Jason moved to Oregon on the US West Coast so that he could best maintain a bridge to Japan. Jason visits Japan often, and to this day still cannot pass up a baseball game, a cold lemon sour, and a plate of takoyaki.
Current Portfolio
Eye of the artist
“For me, art is not an option. It is an all-engrossing expression of self that has no end. I see shapes and color patterns everywhere. I often wake up desperate to remember images that emerge from the recesses of my subconscious, and I have no idea where they come from. All that I know is that the manifestations of these scenes bring me comfort.“Like many parts of my life and the lives of others, art is a constant struggle to bring order to chaos, making something concrete which at one point only existed as an idea. I work to embrace the entropy of life, and try to accept the unintentional of each day and in each artwork as happy accidents – for indeed, were everything predictable, I can see no point in living, as life would hold no more surprises.”
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