“Comfort, give comfort to my people." +
Those are His words and here are mine:
Comfort in that we are not alone, we are loved, and we are here to love God and to love one another. This is a rebellious act when most attention is paid to forms of expression that make people uncomfortable. My work aims to provide spiritual healing. If not to some I am certain it affects one. I am the one.
Moved to create in any capacity, I am the one who was on the dancefloor a generation after Mel Cheren, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol. Thirty years ago I was drawing and painting. Twenty years ago I was sitting in an office. Ten years ago I was producing music and programming club remixes. My restless heart yearned for more. I questioned my purpose but I knew I had passion. Rather than reaching for the counsel of creatives and other people whom I had admired, I went directly to my Creator. I asked God for help and, slowly but surely, my sphere of influence opened up to revere the science of the Saints. My life as an artist required more than a renaissance, it called for resurrection. I needed to feel it from God and not society.
I work in acrylics and oils, but I utilize whatever I can get my hands on or into. Mostly canvas, some digital, all of my pieces are indicative of my experience. Music tends to be of influence more than a body of work produced by another artist. I connect with how they move, to construct an emotional bridge and explore their grace, and it serves to move me.
Mel Cheren, “The Godfather of Disco,” also painted. I see his influence in the rhythm of my textured acrylic works. However, I was most struck by his depiction of Jesus Christ as the rainbow enveloping NYC nightlife, giving life to so many, amid the darkest days and heaviness of death among the gay community.
I admire Keith Haring as an artist. As a gay man I also relate to his love for dance music. I think that he would get a kick out of the fact that I paint in my underwear, mixing records as I dance and sing. It’s a kind vibe and kind people are my kind of people.
Beyond my preference for blondes and making art that pops, this gentleman must mention another gentleman who I consider to be very cool for reasons that go far beyond glitz and glam. Andy Warhol loved his Mother and, in the midst of all the life he was living, he still managed to go to Church regularly. That’s fierce.
So whether it’s a portrait of a pop star, an abstract in acrylics, or painting on my knees with my bare hands, or wearing a digital rendering of my work on a t-shirt, this is who I am.
Amen to The Amen.
Jason Coletta
2023 Pro Arts Jersey City: Winter 2023 Member Showcase,
SHIM Art Network, Artsy, New York, NY
Coming Up With Me, acrylic on canvas
2022 Pro Arts Jersey City: Fall 2022 Member Showcase,
SHIM Art Network, Artsy, New York, NY
With My Bare Hands, acrylic on canvas
2022 Pro Arts Jersey City: Summer 2022 Member Showcase,
SHIM Art Network, Artsy, New York, NY
Scar (right), acrylic and oil pastel mixed media on paper
2022 Pro Arts Jersey City: Winter 2022 Member Showcase,
SHIM Art Network, Artsy, New York, NY
21, oil on canvas
2021 Pro Arts Jersey City: Fall 2021 Member Showcase,
SHIM Art Network, Artsy, New York, NY
Someone Like You, pastel on paper
2018 JCAST, Grace Church, City Hall, Brunswick Center, Jersey City, NJ
Harmony, oil mixed media on canvas
I’m A Rainbow Too, acrylic and oil mixed media on canvas
Hope Symbolic, acrylic mixed media on canvas
He And The, oil on canvas
Sunrise In The Garden Of Good And Evil, acrylic mixed media on canvas
2018 GATEWAY TO THE ARTS, The Leo House, New York, NY
The Unity, oil mixed media on canvas
2017 THE BOX: FEAR EDITION, Jersey City Theater Center, Jersey City, NJ
discOvery video performance
2016 IDENTITY, Jersey City Theater Center, Jersey City, NJ
Metamourphosis video performance
1995 YOUTH EXHIBITION, Panama City Center for the Arts, Panama City, FL
Mothers And Children Throughout The Ages, acrylic on canvas
1996-2000. Saint Peter's University, Jersey City, New Jersey
Bachelor of Science, Marketing Management
Graduated Magna cum Laude 2000
1992-1996. Rutherford High School, Panama City, Florida
International Baccalaureate Diploma Recipient
Graduated 1996
University-level academic program with college credit-bearing courses, rigorous course study and examinations. Final examinations and performance evaluation for each of six areas of study (Scored 1-7, 7 being a perfect score of excellence). Areas of study: Design and Applied Arts, Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics.
Passed all exams and exceeded the passing-grade total requirement.
Final-Grade Total of 32.
Design and Applied Arts Final Grade of 7 (excellence).
Graduated as an International Baccalaureate Program Diploma Recipient.
Jason Coletta's Artist Shop
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.