“Well, Look At That”

Jeremy Shockley in a black shirt with red lettering posing next to his painting hanging on the wall at his art show. The painting is oil on canvas and depicts a light green ocean beneath a cloudy purple and blue sky. There is a sheet-line waterfall pouring vertically out of the sky into the ocean below.

Q&A with painter Jeremy Shockley

All photos courtesy of Laura June Kirsch

On Feb. 25, Los Angeles-based painter Jeremy Shockley opened his first solo New York City show Well, Look At That at The Hole Tribeca. Naturally, we were there!

The opening night was a huge success, despite the frigid temperatures the show was packed out and the paintings did not disappoint. Viewers are met with large-scale surreal and meta works based on nature scenes.

As a long-time fan of his work (and The Hole), I was very excited to attend the show and ask some questions about Jeremy’s current show. It will be on view through April 29 at The Hole—don’t miss it!

A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "Show Me Everything." The painting is of a royal blue and bright purple cloud-swirled, starry sky. The painting is painted to look as if there are tears in the painting itself that form the shapes of a large smiley face.
Show Me Everything, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)
A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "Double Double." The painting is an ombre bright orange, red and yellow and looks like the light beams of a sunset are flooding across it.The painting is painted to look as if there are tears in the painting itself that form the shapes of a large smiley face.
Double Double, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)

LJK:  Let’s talk about the smiley face paintings. The smiley face is of course an iconic image and I love your take on it and the perceived texture in the work. Can you tell us what inspired you to start incorporating it into your work?

Jeremy: First, I just really love smiley faces and painting trompe l’oeil rips. It was also during a time when everyone was painting/wanting figurative paintings, but I just wanted to paint skies. It was my way of giving people something slightly figurative, to trick them into just looking at pretty skies. 

LJK:  We spoke briefly at the show and you mentioned this all coming together very quickly and that you produced all the work in a short period of time. What was that process like for you?

Jeremy: It was a mad dash. There was a 33-day stretch during which I painted 10 to 14 hours a day, every day. I wouldn’t mind longer, but I loved every second of it. I do have a weird clicking noise in m elbow right now though.

LJK:  Did you have a concept already in mind you wanted to hash out?

Jeremy: I had some themes and imagery that I had in mind. I don’t do much planning in my painting though. I usually just do a quick sketch with vine charcoal on the canvas and then see what happens. I work on three or four paintings at the same time, to allow for drying in between phases. This usually lets me work out the cohesion of the show at the same time.  

A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "Why Don't We Go." The painting depicts a light blue, cloud riddled sky with a light green wavy ocean below. On the barely visible horizon line, it appears as if a fishing line has come down from the top of the painting to pull up the sky like a curtain, exposing a sliver of bright lime green sky behind.
Why Don’t We Go, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)
A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "Under The Sea." The painting depicts a hazy blue sky that blend into a hazy green ocean. At the bottom of the painting, it appears as if a rectangle was cut out of the canvas to reveal the ocean floor covered in bright yellow, pink and green corals and plants.
Under The Sea, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)

LJK:  When I was first introduced to your work there were a lot of rainbows in your paintings. What was the significance of using the rainbow and can you tell us a bit about the evolution of your current style?

Jeremy: I really just love to paint rainbows, but they were also a way for me to figure out things with paint and movement on the canvas. I made them follow the contours of mountains and interact with the imagery of the paintings. I tried to make them a living, breathing, moving entity. My current style has just grown out of those paintings. Still exploring landscape, ocean and sky elements being moving entities.  

People standing in the middle of Jeremy Shockley's "Well, Look At That" art show space. Various painting are hung up on the wall and the crowd of people are standing in groups mingling and observing the art.
Well, Look At That on display at The Hole Tribeca

LJK: Is this your first solo show in New York City?

Jeremy: It is! I’ve done some shows in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, but this is my first New York City show. It was even more magical than I expected. 

LJK:  When did you start painting? 

Jeremy: I started drawing as far back as I can remember. I think the first time I really made anything with paint was a stage set prop for my elementary school when I was in fourth grade. They let me make a giant flat 10-foot pumpkin carriage and paint it all. I was pretty hooked.

LJK What’s your ultimate goal as an artist?

Jeremy:  All I really want is to be able to continue to paint and share with folks.  It’s a “the work is the reward” kind of situation for me.

A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "A Motivational Painting." The painting depicts a large swirling mass of dark gray clouds beginning to invade a light yellow and blue sky. A small, life-like orang and black striped tiger is painted on the right hand side of the painting to look as if it is digging it's claws into the canvas itself to stop from falling.
A Motivational Painting, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)
A photo of Jeremy Shockley's oil on canvas painting entitled "Creep." The painting depicts a sky that fades from pale blue to pale yellow with a light gray, wispy cloud in he middle. Above the cloud, in the upper half of the painting, it appears as if a hand has slid up a small rectangular compartment of the canvas from behind the wall. The middle three fingers of the person's hand are just visible.
Creep, 2023, oil on canvas
Jeremy Shockley (b.1982)

LJK:  What’s your best piece of advice for finding inspiration when stuck creatively?

Jeremy:  Pick something you think you hate and do it. I didn’t like surrealism or painting skies for a long period of my life.

LJK: Which artists have influenced you?

Jeremy: Constable, Turner, Cecily Brown, Philip Guston, Hilma af Klint, de Chirico, Magritte, Tom Sachs, Chris Burden, Francis Bacon and all my friends currently slinging paint and making wonderful things.

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