Paul Jacobsen Art

In "Outpost", Jacobsen’s new body of work records scenes from a year when societal boundaries where crossed and personal dreams set into motion. The paintings in this exhibition continue and expand on the ideas of Jacobsen’s 2014 exhibition, “Lean-to,” which featured artworks that invited viewers to contemplate still-life images of interiors from the artist’s domestic spaces and black and white arrangements from the artist’s workspace. While seemingly traditional still lives, the works served as the artist’s subtle critique of industrialized society. The content and technique speak to Jacobsen’s attempt to insulate himself from this very type of industrial environment and modernist influences. Jacobsen purchased a miner’s cabin in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado just prior to the legalization of marijuana, and the paintings in Outpost serve as documents of his experiments in growing this newly legal plant. In these still lifes, the marijuana plant is the central focus against a dark background, along with wild mushrooms collected on long hikes and crystals gifted from friends. These paintings hearken back to traditional Dutch paintings of tulips, itself a coveted plant in its day. Deploying the technique of lens flare, Jacobsen highlights the importance of the camera, while also referencing the religious, spiritual, and cultist motif of light symbolizing the divine. The usage of this “heavenly” light on these cannabis plants...

Inspired by scenes from iconic American landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to lush forests, Jacobsen delves into humanity’s connection to nature and the technology that often mediates that experience. Embedded in the works is the recognition of nature’s immense power in contrast to its quickening fragility. Increasingly, under threat from the continuing rollback of regulations and protections in favor of exploitation for commercial gain, the double-edged sword of technology and the legacy of Westward expansion continue into the present day. For Jacobsen, American parks act as a foil to European colonization and resource extraction. While the creation of National Parks may be one of America’s greatest innovations, in preserving these beautiful and once wild places, they are in practice reduced to roadside attractions. Jacobsen states, “By elevating these picturesque landscapes we also diminish our own place in them. No longer are we participants in the divine dance but instead menacing spectators observing from stadium...

Inspired by scenes from iconic American landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to lush forests, Jacobsen delves into humanity’s connection to nature and the technology that often mediates that experience. Embedded in the works is the recognition of nature’s immense power in contrast to its quickening fragility. Increasingly, under threat from the continuing rollback of regulations and protections in favor of exploitation for commercial gain, the double-edged sword of technology and the legacy of Westward expansion continue into the present day. For Jacobsen, American parks act as a foil to European colonization and resource extraction. While the creation of National Parks may be one of America’s greatest innovations, in preserving these beautiful and once wild places, they are in practice reduced to roadside attractions. Jacobsen states, “By elevating these picturesque landscapes we also diminish our own place in them. No longer are we participants in the divine dance but instead menacing spectators observing from stadium...

Inspired by scenes from iconic American landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to lush forests, Jacobsen delves into humanity’s connection to nature and the technology that often mediates that experience. Embedded in the works is the recognition of nature’s immense power in contrast to its quickening fragility. Increasingly, under threat from the continuing rollback of regulations and protections in favor of exploitation for commercial gain, the double-edged sword of technology and the legacy of Westward expansion continue into the present day. For Jacobsen, American parks act as a foil to European colonization and resource extraction. While the creation of National Parks may be one of America’s greatest innovations, in preserving these beautiful and once wild places, they are in practice reduced to roadside attractions. Jacobsen states, “By elevating these picturesque landscapes we also diminish our own place in them. No longer are we participants in the divine dance but instead menacing spectators observing from stadium...

Inspired by scenes from iconic American landscapes, ranging from arid deserts to lush forests, Jacobsen delves into humanity’s connection to nature and the technology that often mediates that experience. Embedded in the works is the recognition of nature’s immense power in contrast to its quickening fragility. Increasingly, under threat from the continuing rollback of regulations and protections in favor of exploitation for commercial gain, the double-edged sword of technology and the legacy of Westward expansion continue into the present day. For Jacobsen, American parks act as a foil to European colonization and resource extraction. While the creation of National Parks may be one of America’s greatest innovations, in preserving these beautiful and once wild places, they are in practice reduced to roadside attractions. Jacobsen states, “By elevating these picturesque landscapes we also diminish our own place in them. No longer are we participants in the divine dance but instead menacing spectators observing from stadium...

Jacobsen’s painting of an Orb juxtaposed next to a wooden sculptural element (repurposed and dyed stretcher bars) in the shape of an X considers the spiritual nature of our fascinati...

Constructed of wood, paint and some metal mixed media. Paul Jacobsen used everyday objects, such as chairs, cars, airplanes, trains, motorcycles and puzzles, all built from scratch, and turns them into haunting and very desirable works of art. Among his most famous works are the Adirondack Chair series, which has won him acceptance and recognition. The Adirondack chair fascinated Jacobsen, bringing recollections of summer beaches, color, and warmth. Paul sadly passed away in 2018 and left a legacy of colorful...