Exhibitions

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  • Reniel Del Rosario, Guns, Beauty, Donuts

    Opening Reception:

    April 04, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

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    Jason Jägel

    La Machine Molle

    Gallery 16 is pleased to welcome artist Jason Jägel for his second solo exhibition with the gallery, ​La Machine Molle​. Jägel presents a new series of paintings, works on paper and sculptures. There will be an opening reception for the artist on ​Friday, February 7th, from 6-9pm​.

    La Machine Molle​ is French for The Soft Machine, the title of a 1961 cut-up novel by American author William S. Burroughs, as well as the name of seminal Canterbury scene band, ​Soft Machine​. After being kicked out of his own band (Soft Machine), Robert Wyatt started a new band which he named ​Matching Mole​, a linguistic pun on the French name for ​Soft Machine.​ The images in a new series of paintings refer to the 1972 live performance of Wyatt’s group on the French television program ​Rockenstock​. Jägel's broad admiration for Wyatt includes his use of everyday speech, wry humor, and self-referential elements in his lyrics. There is a kinship in the way both Jägel and Wyatt bring together elements of improvisation and lyrical narrative.

    In his own unique and poetic way, Jason Jägel's work cultivates a strong improvisational component, born out of a form of autobiographical fiction, his love of music, comics, and literary fiction. In the words of Kevin Killian, he is an “ace raconteur” and, above all, Jägel's work tells a story. His compositions often appear as fragments where experiences, dreams, people, places, individual narratives and past experiences intersect and intertwine to create open-ended, conversational stories full of rhythm and flow. No evident beginning, middle or end, the spectator zooms in and out of situations, decoding and perceiving along the way, searching for a route to try and interpret the often ambiguous signs and signals in order to create coherence.

    The stylistic form of Jägel's spontaneous and improvisational painting is immediately recognizable. His paintings blend elements of abstract painting, comic flatness and linguistic expression into works that are dense, vibrant, and colorful. He has an impressive sense of rhythm, as well as a gift for surprising color synthesis. “I don’t want to see the colors in such a way that they foremost advertise their hue. I want to mix colors that foremost elicit an emotional response.” (JJ).

    Jason Jägel (born in 1971 in Boston, MA and based in San Francisco) is a painter, educator, and commissioned public artist. He has been featured in numerous solo and group shows since 1995 including shows in New York, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Milan, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans and more. His work uses the syntax of comics to conjure fictional worlds where anything can happen at anytime, like everyday life. “I want to create a place with its own inner life and see what happens,” says Jägel. He received an MFA from Stanford University in 2002. His work is included in many public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Jägel has completed twelve commissioned public artworks in San Francisco, all in the context of transforming neighborhoods and innovative large-scale projects. His most recent commission is a 13x34 foot ceramic tile mosaic installed at San Francisco International Airport’s new Harvey Milk Terminal 1.

    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 1),

    2020

    Oil on canvas

    11 x 14 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 2),

    2020

    Oil and acrylic on wood

    7.6 x 8.2 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 3),

    2020

    Oil on canvas

    20 x 24 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 4),

    2020

    Oil on linen

    24 x 30 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 5)

    Oil on masonite

    14.4 x 14.75 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 6),

    2020

    Oil and acrylic on c-print mounted on aluminum

    10.5 x 13.5 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 7),

    2020

    Oil on masonite

    14.4 x 14.75 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 8),

    2020

    Oil on canvas

    16 x 20 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 9),

    2020

    Oil on linen

    24 x 30 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 10),

    2020

    Oil and acrylic on C-print mounted on aluminum

    24 x 30 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 11),

    2020

    Oil on wood

    23.5 x 25.4 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 12),

    2020

    Oil on masonite

    14.4 x 14.75 inches

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    On Ajoute Des Choses (no. 13),

    2020

    Oil on masonite

    14.4 x 14.75 inches

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    Animals and Decibals,

    2017

    Acrylic on canvas over panel

    66 x 78 inches

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    Child At Play,

    2019

    Gouache on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Horizontal Hold,

    2020

    Gouache and pencil on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Two-Sided Coin,

    2020

    Gouache, ink and pencil on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Syncopate Your Life,

    2020

    Gouache and watercolor on paper

    39 x 27.5 inches

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    Pop's Ricepaper,

    2019

    Acrylic gouache on rice paper

    33 x 25 inches

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    A-Frame (angle 2),

    2017

    Oil on canvas, bass wood

    55 x 72 x 56 inches

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    A-Frame (angle 1),

    2017

    Oil on canvas, bass wood

    55 x 72 x 56 inches

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    Natural History,

    2019

    Oil on newsprint

    22 x 24 inches

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    Love Taps,

    2020

    Oil on newsprint

    22 x 24 inches

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    Whistle,

    2020

    Acrylic on paper

    72 x 60 inches

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    Chapter six,

    2019

    Acrylic Gouache on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Wait For Me,

    2020

    Acrylic gouache on paper

    30 x 20 inches

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    Trivalent,

    2019

    Acrylic gouache on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Complementary Sacrifice,

    2019

    Acrylic gouache on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Where Did You Come From,

    2019

    Acrylic gouache on paper

    30 x 22 inches

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    Rockenstock,

    2015

    Oil on canvas

    96 x 48 inches

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    Lean-To,

    2020

    Oil and acrylic on wood

    7.8 x 12 inches

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