Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anna Jekel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Anna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I had a meandering path to becoming a painter. My childhood was filled with creativity, with papier-mâché, clay beads, or sewing projects filling weekends. After high school I developed an interest in photography and found a job at a small photography studio taking portraits. Ultimately, I didn’t feel it was my passion. I felt directionless and fell into depression. Eventually I was able to go to college, where I studied theatre and costume design.

I moved to New York City to continue my career as a costume designer when the pandemic hit. During lockdown I took out my small collection of painting materials and started painting portraits from photos. I enjoyed working with the paint immensely as I learned to mix colors and become freer with brushstrokes. But I also felt there was something missing; I was simply making a painting of a photo. I began to wonder what would happen if I painted what I felt instead. It took me months of ruminating on what exactly painting “what I felt” would mean and overcoming the fear of the unknown before I attempted to paint in this new way.

In November of 2020, I made three experimental paintings that started it all. With no planning, I channeled a stream of consciousness into playful colors and shapes, abstracted figures and faces, and personal symbols. It was intoxicating to create in this way, with freedom, discovery, and surprise. There was also an intimate connection to the work which I had not experienced in my other creative endeavors. I was making work about me, and for me. There was no going back. From that point on, I committed myself to making art freely from the heart.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an artist working in painting, drawing, printmaking, and mixed media. I have a varied practice but all my work springs from the same impulse – to create emotionally, honestly, and freely. My work is largely figurative, exploring bodies that reach out, bend backwards, or intertwine as expressions of desire, connection, love, and loneliness. I also explore the breaking down of hierarchies between people as well as the between humans, nature, and the cosmos. There is also a blurring of naïveté with eroticism as I create worlds that are ambiguous, break norms, and undermine traditions.

Driven by a longing to capture what is important to me, I imagine a similar drive for artists through the millennia. I feel a kinship to prehistoric artists who took to sacred cave walls to express themselves. My studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn serves as my modern-day cave – a space of safety, creation, and magic. In this space I work on whatever inspires me that day, whether it is small works on paper or large paintings. I always make time just to doodle. I am often surprised by how those quick gestures can generate a multitude of ideas.

Last summer, I was a resident and held a solo exhibition at Field Projects Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. The show featured my large-scale painted paper cut-outs that occupied the walls and weaved together mythical, delightful, and sinister stories. The inhabitants of the world, brought to life with swooping lines and soft colors, evoked deep sensuality as well as a delicate sensitivity. Visitors likened the experience to stepping into a fairytale, and it was joyful to watch people enter the gallery space and be filled with wonder. Although my work is deeply personal, witnessing how viewers engage, relate, and react to the work was immensely impactful.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

In my creative journey I hope to imbue my life with as much art as possible. For me, creating art is a microcosm of life- full of joy, pain, discovery, uncertainty, disappointment, and beauty. There are infinite depths to explore, and my goal is to nurture this exploration. Working in the studio is paramount – simply the time and space to make. Another large part of this nourishment is learning new techniques and experimenting with new processes. I feel that the more tools I have at my disposal, the greater the opportunity for honest expression there is in the work. Mentors and friends are also indispensable, whether going to a gallery with or having studio visits. For me, connection with others is an important facet of being an artist. And while it can be hard not to think about recognition- and of course it feels good- I always try to think of it as being in service of facilitating further work.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have had depression my whole life. There have been many long stretches of my life when getting out of bed was too difficult. The worst period of time was during my early twenties, when I felt completely disconnected from life. Emerging from that depression, I made the decision to actively participate in life, to discover, pursue, and engage with things that were important to me. Although it took me many more years to discover my passion for painting, it has all been part of the continuous process of shaping my life. And now, even though it can sometimes still feel like I am pushing through day by day, I know art is there for me no matter what.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.annajekel.com
• Instagram: @jekel_art

Image Credits
Anna Jekel: Photo Courtesy of Nivia Hernandez Untamed/Untold Installation: Photos Courtesy of Em Joseph/Joseph Joseph Studio 2023 Compassion: Photo Courtesy of Em Joseph/Joseph Joseph Studio 2023 You and Your Demons: Photo Courtesy of Em Joseph/Joseph Joseph Studio 2023 Linoleum Cut Prints: Photo Courtesy of Em Joseph/Joseph Joseph Studio 2023 Escape from Rapture: Photo Courtesy of Em Joseph/Joseph Joseph Studio 2023 Dying Flower: Photo Courtesy of the Artist