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Artist Statement:
“My work deals with
contradictions and uncommon
combinations. Structures and
surface effects are used to
surpass two-dimensionality and
provoke new impressions with
any change of light or angle
of view.
I use a variety of mediums to
create my often conceptual
series. I prefer mixed media
and ceramics, but also paint
with acrylics or make collages
and occasional prints to
explore my themes.”...
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Artist Exhibitions:
SOLO EXHIBITS
2009 OM, Ventura
2008 Artamo Gallery, Santa
Barbara
2006 SB Arts TV, Channel 17
(30 min.), Santa Barbara
2006 Artamo Gallery, Santa
Barbara
2005 Roberts Art Gallery,
Santa Monica
2004 Neuvié, Santa Barbara
2004 Faulkner Gallery, Santa
Barbara
2004 The Faculty Club, UCSB,
Santa Barbara
2004 Boxheart Gallery, ...
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Artist Galleries:
ARTAMO GALLERY
11 W. Anapamu St,. Santa
Barbara, CA 93101, (805)
568-1400
BOXHEART GALLERY
4523 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh,
PA 15224, (412) 687-8858...
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Collections:
MUSEUMS:
Kunstbibliothek Berlin,
Germany (posters)
Rundfunk Archiv Berlin,
Germany (posters)
CORPORATIONS:
Silica GmbH, Berlin, Germany
UBS PaineWebber, Puerto Rico
PRIVATE:
Collectors in the United
States (west coast and east)
and in Germany...
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Commissions:
Heinz Naumann, Berlin,
Germany:
14 acrylic paintings (the
House Numbers Series) plus
other works [1974-1988] ...
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Santa Ynez Valley Journal, August 7–13, 2008
MOHR EXHIBIT AT ARTAMO
An exhibit of small original ceramic sculptures by Jack N. Mohr is on view at Artamo Gallery through Aug. 10, along with photomontages showing them on a large scale.
The Berlin-born artist now lives in Santa Barbara. There will be a reception in his honor at the gallery, 11 West Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, on Aug. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Also on view will be the artist’s imaginary photomontages visualizing the small works on a large scale, in such settings at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles or the Stanford Art Museum in Palo Alto.
Mohr was educated in Berlin, receiving a master’s degree in graphic design from the State University for Creative Arts there.
The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., and the first Thursday of each month until 8 p.m.
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Santa Barbara Independent, June 1, 2006
A BODY OF WORK
Contradiction at Artamo Gallery, through July 9.
reviewed by Beth Taylor-Schott
I’ve never realized how much I identify with whichever piece of art I happen to be standing in front of. Apparently, there is a deep, primitive part of my brain that does not understand visual illusion and that sees the whole work-of-art-as-window-on-the-world thing as nonsense. This part of my brain takes each canvas not just as an archetypal skin, but as my skin, and furthermore, as my body.
As I mentioned, I hadn’t realized any of this, or not, at any rate, experienced it consciously, or even viscerally, until I walked through a gallery hung with Jack Mohr’s works. I began to realize it then because of how seriously those works messed with that very part of my brain.
In one predominant compositional type — examples are “Big Red,” “Eruption I,” “Metal Blades,” and “Vertical White” — the work of painting has quite clearly been performed across most of the canvas. The paint is opaque, thick brush strokes are at times evident, and the surface has been given body through the introduction of sand and other texturizers. In the center of this worked canvas appears, as if torn into it, a jagged, painterly, lusciously edged wound. What does the canvas reveal by rending itself thus? The glint of metallic mesh, seeping out like a cyborgian undergirding that the painting process has tried in vain to cover over. Nearby, paint-encrusted twine seems to produce the same outline as clotted blood running along a sharp edge. Elsewhere, nails protrude through the canvas from the back, so that if you put your hand out toward the paint — a basic urge we must always have, but usually ignore — you might prick your finger. These are not the sort of nails anyone has ever been crucified with, surely. No, they are smallish, neat, industrially produced nails, and yet the discomfort they produce seems incommensurate with their size. Standing in front of such a painting, one begins to wonder if a nail is ever really only a nail.
Did I mention how beautiful all this was, when you can get the aesthetic part of your brain to kick in and notice the shiny surfaces, the rich colors, and the prismatic impression created by abstractly applied chiaroscuro? I don’t think I shivered looking at the works — not visibly, anyway. But more than once I made an involuntary noise, something like a small, half-distressed sigh.
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Casa magazine Santa barbara, May26, 2006
Jack N. Mohr mounts a two-part exhibit at ARTAMO Gallery
CONTRADICTION
by Jefferson hawkins, Casa Santa Barbara
Jack N. Mohr’s paintings and sculpture form a visual contradiction. Bold forms of light and color contrast with industrial hues and textures: nails and wire mesh. Mohr’s exhibit of his recent work will be shown at ARTAMO Gallery in two segments. Part one will be on display through June 4, and after the gallery’s summer break, part two, with a different set of works, will show from June 21 to July 9.
“As a child I was fascinated with the beauty of a power plant or oil refinery, ”Mohr shared. “At the same time I was afraid of it. It is this contradiction of life’s beauty with its darker side that I try to express in my art.”
Born in Berlin, the son of a graphic designer, Mohr began drawing at an early age. He studied art and visual communication at the State University for Creative Arts and graduated with a Masters’ degree in graphic design. He founded his own design studio, and earned international recognition for his posters, logo, and trademark designs.
While pursuing his career as a commercial designer Mohr began working with collages and acrylic paintings, later also exploring photography and printmaking.
A Santa Barbara resident since 1997, Mohr prefers mixed media painting and three-dimensional work. “I use a variety of mediums and often create conceptual series,” Mohr explained. “I prefer to paint with mixed media and acrylics on canvas or work with ceramics, but I also use collage and prints to explore my themes.”
His art has been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries and institutions in Germany and the United States and is part of many private and corporate collections.
“I want my art to make people think, not just be a decorative object,” Mohr said. “Sometimes people look at a work of mine and say ‘I hate it.’ I say,‘Good, at least you have an opinion!’”
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Santa Barbara Daily Sound, May 19, 2006
ART SHOW TAKES ON MANY FORMS
by Lynn Holley, Daily sound Correspondent
An array of abstract mixed media paintings and wall and floor sculptures by German-born artist Jack Mohr, dominate the ARTAMO gallery at 11 West Anapamu Street. A reception will be held tomorrow from 6-9.The exhibition titled Contradiction Part I shows through June 4. Part II of Mohr’s themed work will be
on display from June 21-July 9.
Taking obvious cues from many early and well-known German abstract artists, Mohr has developed his own practice of working in a variety of media to achieve striking visual effects.
Using everything from corrugated cardboard to linen and nails, Mohr’s art is definitely not a benign force on the stark white gallery walls.
This exhibition represents Mohr’s work over the past three years or so. It is a very controlled mixture of media, texture and placement.
Sharp edges contrast with patches of linen and smooth lacquered, shiny surfaces. His works are vivid and interesting, even the pure white porcelain wall sculptures contrast nicely with larger heavy paintings sporting bright hues in red, silver and metallic blue.
Mohr's intention seems almost obvious in allowing the viewer to just immerse themselves in the abstract qualities of his works.
Although nails crop out of most of his art, there is little need to analyze their existence. Mohr's creative application of paint mixed with oddities of random substances over-shines any back story or deep truth they might hold.
However, a bit of fun can be had with his large painting titled Four Ways to Get Through a Blue Day. It can be placed in any direction to acquire the intended perspective.
Mohr’s only work that seems to provoke any serious emotion is one of two sculpted silver-based towers.
Titled Breaking News Column, the board is wrapped in a collage of newsprint bleating out disasters with a broken side panel and a few nails climbing up the sides.
Created in 2001, it is hard not to seethe influence of 9/11, no matter how much Mohr pleads otherwise. The other tower is of similar texture, but without news or print or nails, just a mixture of silver and red textures. Titled Red NetWorks Column, it was created in 2003.
Mohr has lived in Santa Barbara since 1997. He is a graduate of the University for Creative Arts in Berlin and has a Master's Degree in graphic design.
His early training in Berlin shows throughout his work. Each piece is a clean and precise expression of contemporary abstract art.
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Casa Santa Barbara, Friday, December 5, 2003
PROGRESSION: NEW MIXED MEDIA WORKS BY JACK N. MOHR
Jack N. Mohr’s latest work, Progression, states a big change. The new series presents an array of geometric forms, which tumble into labyrinth of interwoven depths, to finally float in a balance of chaos and order. Progression is on view at the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau and Film Commission through the end of December.
After a period of working with ceramics and creating semi-abstract acrylic paintings, these pieces show a complete new approach, while maintaining elements of past experimentation in acrylic, solvent, and spray paint conibinations.
“Usually I create a series of work to cover every aspect of an idea or a theme,” explained Mohr. “My sometimes icon-like art expresses feelings, reflections and situations. This often goes together with the exploration of surfaces, structures and the changing effects of light and shade.”
Born in Berlin, Germany, Jack studied Art and Visual Communication at the State University for Creative Arts in Berlin and graduated with a Masters degree in Graphic Design. His design work is represented in the poster collections of two museums in Berlin and can be found in various private and corporations collections.
In addition to his graphic design work, Jack always created art, mostly collages and paintings. When, in 1998, he was introduced to working in ceramics, he became so fascinated by the versatility of this medium that three-dimensional work now is an important part of his artistic endeavor.
In 1997 Jack N. Mohr came to Califomia and has lived in Santa Barbara since. His work has been shown in numerous galleries and institutions in Germany as well as in the United States.
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Scene Magazine/Santa Barbara News-Press, November 21, 2003
POST-'ZIP'
by Charles Donelan
The new exhibit of mixed media work by Jack N. Mohr now on view at the Santa Barbara Visitors and Conference Bureau takes two strong directions - up and in. In the works loosely grouped as "Progression," the artist draws the viewer into the depths of the pictorial space with a shifting array of geometric shapes.
In the canvases grouped as "Networks," the dominant force is a vertical stripe, often. Complicated on the surface by other elements embedded, from twine and nylon mesh to nails. The result is a pleasing experience in the present that bears fascinating traces of the past.
The "Progression" pictures make use of an industrial palette of reflective gray, blue, red and green, but they do so in a way that softens the effect and steers the viewer away from their associations with the man-made and toward the natural world. "Blue World," with its aggressive, angular facture, achieves the paradox of cubism, in which the multiplication and repetition of planes and surfaces results in a stronger sense of the whole.
"Light over S.B." is almost a cubist landscape, but again, there are hints of something else in the handling and associations of the materials.
The "Networks" series is about connection. Once upon a time, abstract painters acted like priests or sorcerers. With every canvas they asserted the connection between here and beyond.
The abstract pictorial convention most closely associated with transcendence lies traditionally been the "zip," a vertical line or stripe that extends unbroken from the bottom to the top of the picture plane.
Perhaps the best known examples are by Barnett Newman, but everyone has at one time or another seen one of these pictures - they are archetypal.
In "Big Red," a large, horizontally shaped canvas, Mohr confronts Barnett Newman's best-known work, the big red canvas known as "Vir Heroicus Sublimus," directly. Mohr's "Big Red" is a great picture, at once studied and spontaneous in feeling, and extremely
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