Artist Jess Black — at the David W. Streets Beverly Hills Art Gallery
About Artist Jess Black
Jess Black b. 1979
In a remarkably short period of time, Jess Black has become one of Los Angeles's preeminent abstract artists. His work, which has been compared to and rivals early twentieth century abstract expressionist artists Wassily Kandinsky, Sam Francis and Jean‐Michel Basquiat, is a testimony to his emerging talent.
Abstract expressionism is the art of painting emotion in a way that the viewer can feel but is unable to articulate.
It is almost impossible to explain an emotion, you just experience it. In truth, when practiced by a painter like Jess Black, abstract painting is a powerful, creative force.
Black understands that art is created with meaning. Jess states, "I can't fabricate something profound. When it happens, it simply happens organically and on its own. I'm just lucky enough to be holding the brush."
Born near Chicago, Jess has lived all over the United States. During his teen years in Des Moines, Black, who is a self‐taught artist, was considered a prodigy and became known as a muralist. By the age of 15, he was commissioned to do work in Des Moines, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Dallas.
Those works have been published in Better Homes and Gardens and Builder Architect.
After high school Jess moved to New York and was signed by the famed Wilhelmina modeling agency.
He quickly booked jobs which included campaigns for Benetton and Ralph Lauren with modeling assignments that took him as far as Tokyo, Japan. Also interested in music, Jess was offered a development deal with Atlantic Records as a recording artist. However, art was never far from his heart and he continued to paint for a growing list of private clients.
In 2010, Jess longed for open space and moved to California. Within a month he had booked his first solo show in downtown Los Angeles which sold out. As a result of that show, Jess's art work is prominently featured in a national Blackberry television commercial.
In September of this same year, Jess formed Jess Black Fine Art with business partner Jeffrey Steck. The logo for the company is a prince's crown painted by Black, which is an homage to the children's book, The Little Prince. All of his work can be viewed at JessBlackArt.com.
Black's work has been commissioned for corporate and hospitality collections. It has also been featured in national publications, including Juxtapoz and Paper Magazines. Jess currently bares all in a national advertisement for the "Id Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign in support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
In late 2010 Black was identified by a juried panel of college art professors as an emerging artist and one to watch in 2011.
