Jason Seife Debuts With Studio Di Un Uomo

1xRUN Through Interview
Studio Di Un Uomo by Jason Seife

1xRUN: Tell us a bit about this piece, is the original still for sale?
Jason Seife: The original piece is oil and paper mache on board. I used strips of paper mache to add extra texture and depth to certain parts of the painting. The original piece was sold to a private collector in NYC and is no longer available.

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1xRun: How did the idea and execution come about for this piece?
Jason Seife: This piece was created in January of 2013 and was inspired by one of my favorite Caravaggio paintings. I am very influenced by the Renaissance Era, and love reinventing old works in new mediums and color palettes that were not available or commonly used during that time. I enjoy seeing how much I can push the palettes and still make the piece work. In this particular piece the figures are rendered in black and white and set in front of a intricately textured and layered back drop that was inspired by a dream i had in which all characters were in black and white but the setting was colorful and constantly changing.

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1xRun: How long did the piece take?
Jason Seife: Due to the layering of paper mache as well as oil glazes, from the time the idea was thought of and the original sketches were made the piece took about 2-3 months to fully complete.

1xRun: What is unique about this piece and why should people buy the print?
Jason Seife: I don’t often worry about what makes a piece unique. To me, its more about my connection with the painting that makes it so unique, and I had a strong connection with this piece in particular. It was tough to sell and part ways with.  I think this is a great introductory piece into my work. If you saw the print and felt something via the photos, then you will love the actual print. Also, if you don’t purchase this print it probably means you are a Nickelback fan……..haha.

1xRun: Describe this print in one gut reaction word.
Jason Seife: Vanitas.

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1xRun: When did you first start making art?  What artists inspired you early on?
Jason Seife: Ive been making art since I was in Elementary school, although I did not attend art school I knew art was what I wanted to do from a very young age. Unfortunately the cost of art school in America is extremely high so I was not able to afford it, I am self taught and have learned what I’ve learned from trial and error. Oh and youtube….youtube is great!  Renaissance art has been extremely influential on me from a very young age. I also loved Van Gogh, growing up I used to be very fascinated by the colors in his work and impressionist style.

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1xRun: Do you listen to music while you work or does it depend on your environment?
Jason Seife: I’m pretty sporadic in my working environment and it fluctuates from piece to piece. Some pieces may require so much of my attention that I wont listen to anything at all for a few days, and others I’ll need to listen to music to stay sane. As far as what I listen to, It’s a bit of everything, some Kanye West, Vampire Weekend, Classical Music, Andrew Bird,…..no Nickelback though.

1xRun: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be and why?
Jason Seife: I am a fan of a lot of artists and love the idea of collaboration. I would be open to working with anyone really. Collaborating is a give and take in the sense that some of my favorite artists might not exactly want to work with me and some artists who I’m not immediately a fan of could come up with something amazing once we put our heads together. So to me, anyone who believes in my work enough to want to collaborate would be extremely flattering to me and is worth a shot!

1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Jason Seife: WebsiteTwitterInstagramHighsnobiety

-1xRUN