Once They Ditched the Road Maps the Possibilities Were Endless, Circa 2023

Jessamyn Box  

Born in Edmonton Alberta, Calgary based artist Jessamyn Box uses acrylic paint, marker, crayon, charcoal, ink and spray paint to create large, abstract works of art that are grounded in colour and explore the relationship and territory between objects and form.  Her work is a multifarious, dynamic fairy tale that forces the journey's plot and resolution into the eye of the viewer.

As a primarily self-taught painter, Box began her artistic journey at a young age with drumming and drama as her creative outlets. After studying Theatre Arts in college, Box found she was desperately craving colour and wanting to get her hands dirty, so she began experimenting with paint whenever possible.  Artistic endeavors took second stage over the next few years as Box was focused on family life and rearing two fantastic kids.  In 2010 Box and her family relocated to Vancouver, and with the painting bug now deeply rooted, she participated in several abstract painting workshops at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. This was the catalyst that solidified the decision to make painting and mark making a full-time reality. Flashforward eleven years and Box, (after much paint splashing and exploration of personal expression), is back in Alberta, and happily creates large, abstract works of art exhibiting with galleries in Vancouver BC, Portland OR, Brooklyn NY, and Ventura CA. as well as a smattering of online exhibitions. Box now has artwork in personal and corporate collections around Canada and the United States, including work displayed with the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and University of British Columbia (UBC) Hospital Foundation.

Jessamyn Box's inspiration for painting comes from things we see in the everyday. Cracked and broken sidewalks, patched roadways, and the reckless disrepair of urban and industrial spaces speak to her in textures and mismatched lines. Beautiful, inspiring, and disjointed, they move within their own universe, a counterpoint to order, underscored by the ordinary, yet unexpected in their expression.

Bright colours evoke joy, the shapes and textures come alive on the canvas, and like oxygen, bring clarity and focus to each waking moment. In her work, there is no visual beginning or ending, no right side up or upside down. Instead, the images float on the canvas; shapes exist independently, yet they are as one within the overarching story.

Painting brings happiness and fulfillment, but also enables a whimsical recklessness that she finds hard to express in other areas of day-to-day life, a freedom that she invites the viewer to find in their own personal connection to the work.