Anna Jekel
Anna Jekel is an artist living in New York City. Originally from Newton, MA, she grew up in a creative household where she frequently drew, crafted, took photographs, and played dress-up. She graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Theatre Production. After graduation, Anna held various positions as a costume designer but began painting during the pandemic lockdown. She has since shifted her focus entirely to painting and currently maintains a studio practice in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Her work reflects her struggle with depression and explores themes of gender, sexuality, love, and human connection to the natural world.
Artist Statement
My paintings are maps of my inner world where landscapes of naïveté clash with despair and desire. Innocent fascination with plants, animals, the sun, moon, and stars is entangled with erotic obsession. I feel part of the natural world yet distant from nature in daily life. This disconnect is explored in my work through the blurring of hierarchies between nature, humans, and the cosmos. Additionally, I delve into the dynamics between people—of power, loneliness, and longing. As bodies embrace, reach out for, or turn away from each other, I undermine the norms of gender and sexuality, reflecting my own experiences of queerness and love.
I approach materials instinctually, with the paintbrush channeling a stream of consciousness onto the surface. Using acrylics, I work quickly—obscuring, scratching, and layering. Recently, I have been incorporating other mediums such as crayons, colored pencils, and collage to break down the formality of painting and heighten the playful quality of my work. Childlike exploration of materials coexists with informed line work to embody the complexities of adulthood.
My early twenties were spent in bed with depression. When I rejoined life, I explored the world with wonder. Figuring out how to be a person and artist has been a continuous process of reevaluation and evolution. It is like painting—an endless exploration full of beauty, pain, and the unexpected. Today, I embrace the play, storytelling, and freedom that painting allows with joy.
www.annajekel.com
