Giovanni’s Room is pleased to announce “Supercavitation”, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Paris based artist Jeremy Jaspers. “Supercavitation” will be on view from September 8 - October 26, 2024. 

Jeremy Jaspers has spent the last two years painting in Paris, France, right along the Quai de la Seine in the 19th arrondissement, in a very unique situation. In between modern, multi-unit housing, are several live/work studios, just across from the casually departed in a 300 year old cemetery, Cimetière des Juifs Portugais de Paris. The city’s historical and contemporary culture has proven to be tremendously influential to Jaspers’ omnipresent universe of vivid scenes and portraits. Jaspers’ early oeuvre depicts the point of view of a seasoned, confident observationalist. In Paris, Jeremy is slowly adapting and romanticizing the settings and atmospheres of his paintings, creating newly complex moments in his distinctive, bold palette. 

In “Supercavitation”, Jeremy’s painting shifts to depict the expressiveness in children, a subject less familiar to those who eagerly await his more voyeuristic compositions . He recently began to focus on the notion of childlike freedom vs adult restraint, contemplating how an individual’s persona can be sculptured by the earliest instances of self-awareness, sociological ideologies and impressionable events that create lasting, emotional wounds, particularly for queer children. In “Georgina” we see a young boy, dressed comfortably in a string of pearls, presumably belonging to a close female figure. As the boy grasps onto a favorite stuffed monkey who is also dressed effeminately, the expression of the young boy appears paralyzed. What is he feeling? Discomfort, humiliation, protest? Jaspers finds solace in knowing the purity and freedom that children characteristically possess, and choose to express at their leisure, unfazed by doubt and self-consciousness, as opposed to the adults around them. 

The paintings in “Supercavitation” create an energy, an understanding of an emotion frozen in a moment, a place of joy for Jeremy, that emboldens realtime viewer’s unique individualism. “Noontime Cyclist” is a continuation of Jasper’s Vitiligo series, and in this instance we encounter a cyclist that engages viewers directly, but with less concern. He asserts himself, as he cycles shirtless, declaring his right to be as he is, expecting the world to treat him with respect dignity, and space. “Murano” arrives amongst the other painted subjects far more quietly, with a bit less confidence, and a degree of wanderlust, camera in-hand to capture and reflect upon a new and ever- growing, shifting world. Jasper’s backgrounds have become more pronounced, dressed and executed. Deep planes and blocking of saturated tones compliment the discussion, and uniquely distinguish them from another. It’s when patterns become obsessive that we begin to uncover a rich history of abstraction that has heavily informed a Jasper’s work. The panels of “Tabouret,” a three panel changing screen, exemplify the artist’s aptitude to marry complex narratives of obsession, curiosity, and lust in a playful and reflective, confined and personal moment. In these reflections on childhood, Jaspers is eager to pinpoint the first drops of bitterness in life, and through this process the subjects in his paintings begin to strengthen and establish themselves as worthy, singular introspective beauties.