Kelsey Jacobsen (b.1993, San Francisco USA) is a multimedia artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They completed the Langara Fine Arts diploma in 2014 and work out of a self-constructed home studio.

Their textured approach to painting began after graduation, with the current evolving and ongoing body of sculptural works originating in the fall of 2022.

Inspired by their lived environment near the active Port of Vancouver, their paintings evoke construction zones, shipping containers with their visual contrasts of bold saturated color on corrugated metal, and warehouses: sturdy, impenetrable structures whose exteriors are patterned with patinas of organic decay, alchemized by seasonal weather and commercial neglect. The heavy layering on their pieces achieves similar textures, in reference to the visual and physical weight seen on industrial architecture.

By amplifying texture, they produce paintings that sit less in two dimensions and more in the third dimension of a ceramic vessel or sculpture, with a durability and cityscape feel that maintains tactile notes of human touch. While pleasing visually, these pieces act as documentation of the unmarked structures, tied to economic systems, that surround us – with all the beauty and brutality of their material lifecycles.

Past bodies of work have included painting, drawing, sculpture, soft sculpture, encaustic and other mixed media, with consistent themes of texture, abstraction, visual combined with visceral, and experimentation designed to push the limits of materials.

Their work has been shown in group shows at Slice of Life Gallery, James Black Gallery, and ARC Gallery. They value the community ethos of DIY spaces and low-barrier opportunities offered to emerging artists at small galleries, but are now also branching out to more established galleries as they continue to diversify their career.

Writing by Violetta Leigh
Violetta Leigh — Writer