Beginning in 1985, while living in NY, Jared was a very successful photographer of celebrities, and deeply engrossed in the art scene of the period. He frequented art exhibitions, most notably those of Basquiat’s work and was intrigued by his unique use of symbols and text to portray his personal narrative. He would visually discuss his family heritage, social topics of the period, police brutality, slavery and other issues of importance to his people. “He had this unique ability to access everything that was in his mind and memory bank… and put it on the canvas”.
To better grasp Jared’s work, we need a minimal understanding of the visual language used by Basquiat. Jared has adapted several symbols that are characteristic of Basquiat’s language: However, Jared uses these symbols not with the same meaning that Basquiat would, rather he adds his own meaning and expression.
For example, Basquiat would make use of human form or distorted form to emphasize his point. In the painting entitled The Beating of Michael Stuart the police officers were portrayed as non-human rectangular forms, while the victim, Michael Stuart was painted as a solid black, human form.
Jared portrays our inner spirit, one of conflict, concern, hope, etc. He is less concerned with the outer aesthetics rather he attempts to portray the inner. It is for this reason that he chose the chicken, a colloquial expression for one who is afraid. The form is tangible and approachable. “Anyone can paint that!” The painting Inner Chicken perhaps best illustrates this concept. Here we see our inner voice, a beautiful, pure, innocent chicken. The blue image on one hand has a huge smile, yet his hands are raised as if to say ‘I’m giving up”. The viewer is challenged to address the conflict between our inner voice (yetser hatov) and our exterior desires (yetser hara).
“Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses.”
I was born in Baltimore, MD and grew up in a secular home in southern New Jersey. In the 1980s I moved to Manhattan and here it was that I was first introduced to the influential artists of the period. At a very young age I began to experiment with various art forms including painting, photography and poetry. These art forms, although very different, have a common denominator. They all require that the artist embrace the process while simultaneously letting go. I have studied by observation, I am an autodidact; an “Outsider artist”, a follower of Jean Dubuffet. I rely solely on instinct and intuition.
My work evolves from the unconscious. As Robert Rauschenberg famously stated “painting relates to both art and life”. Whether painting or writing, I express my hidden world, my inner voice. Through imagery and words, I track my internal journey and concretize my emotional narratives. This empowers me to reframe deep-seated feelings and passions.
The creative process helps reconcile my inner conflicts and enables me to share the spectrum of my feelings and thoughts with the viewer. This process is a confrontation with my identity, an exploration of my fear, an act of courage, and an ultimate spiritual triumph—all central to the human experience.
I search in my work, whether poetry, photography or painting, the humanistic approach. My work is free flowing and raw, reminiscent of the works by Jean-Michel Basquiat. The primeval imagery and universality free me to explore my creative life without judgment.
The years 2018 - 2021 were a time of growth, exploration and self-discovery. It was during this period that I painted extensively and understood that my self revelations have a universal message. The viewer may enter my unique world which in turn will hopefully become a self-enlightening experience. The goal is not to explore the artist’s emotions, rather to identify (or not to identify) with the underlying experience of the painting and how it touches the viewer.