Inhabiting both figuration and abstraction, Ernst Yohji Jaeger's paintings present bewitching characters cocooned within their own surreal and contemplative worlds.
Read MoreBorn in Germany, Jaeger studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts before attending the University of Applied Arts Vienna, graduating in 2019.
Ernst Yohji Jaeger's bewitching characters appear cocooned within their own surreal, contemplative world.
Inhabiting both figuration and abstraction, Jaeger's paintings seek to transcend both time and space. Often capturing androgynous, ageless figures, their actions appear suspended in time while the diagonal shadows veiling his figures convey the feeling of solitude in Jaeger's self-contained world.
Jaeger's subdued colour palette flits between tones of indigo and saffron to emerald and ochre, adding to the surrealness of his twilight scenes.
Jaeger's subject matter is sourced from a variety of material including films, classical paintings, manga, and video games.
Each artwork is primed with a rusty orange base to which Jaeger superimposes a variety of characters, objects, and architectural structures gleaned from still lifes and his own observations.
While each artwork bears a memento of a previous scene, each snapshot retains a sense of uniqueness with the inclusion of a specific object, pose, or architectural setting.
Jaeger's solo exhibition Lunatique, at the Paris-based gallery Crèvecoeur, was highlighted in Ocula Advisory Picks, and featured Untitled (Fireworks) (2022) and Untitled (Arrangement) (2022), among others.
Spotlighting the artist at Liste's 2021 edition, Ocula Advisory explained, 'The artist is inspired by artists like Helene Schjerfbeck, Miljenko Stančić, and Yoshitaka Amano. Perhaps explaining the attraction of his works in our contemporary moment, Philip Hinge once described how "Jäger's painted world emanates the feeling of being lonely despite being surrounded by people."'
Ernst Yohji Jaeger's solo and group exhibitions include Quince Moon, Croy Nielsen, Vienna (2021); and I will wear you in my heart of heart, The Flag Art Foundation, New York (2021); Lotosesser, 15Orient, New York (2020); and (nothing but) Flowers, Karma, New York (2020), among others.
Ernst Yohji Jaeger's Instagram can be found here.
Annabel Downes | Ocula | 2022
