KO Artist Feature Megan Jentsch

I met Megan Jentsch recently over coffee and had the privilege of discussing her current installation up in Holt Renfrew Calgary. Mixing fashion with art couldn’t look better with Megan’s opulent pallet, the colors pop off the canvas and accentuate all the fashion around them. While planning these paintings, Megan said she worked specifically with the mood boards of the seasons with the brand the paintings would compliment. The overall results are nothing short of fabulous. Hat’s off Holt Renfrew, who has strayed away from Gallery art, in finding Megan who brings the aesthetic of the store into one cohesive rhythm.

KO: What is your personal definition of art?

Megan: To me, art is a form of visual communication, connecting a pure form of expressive release to provoking a human reaction. Abstract art is the practice of considered effortless.

KO: What is your preferred artistic medium?

Megan: Acrylic, oil pastel, marker & pencil on canvas or wood panel.

KO: At what age did you decide you were an artist?

Megan: 9 years old. I knew once my frustrated grade 4 art teacher had to make up art projects for me because I would finish everything too fast. The passion for art has been burning ever since.

KO: I always find that answer the most interesting. Almost every artist I have ever worked with, studied with, learned from, has told me they decided to be an artist in their early formative years. It makes me think how important it is to expose children to every form of art possible at an early age so they can see the world differently. There are so many ways and forms of self-expression, and it is so important to our developement into intellectual beings. What is your earliest “art” memory that evoked the feelings inside you?

Megan: I grew up on an agriculture farm, where I would spend my summers working as a little girl for my father. I have vivid memories of taking breaks, sitting on the earth composting geometric shapes and lines in the dirt. That alone was an oddly satisfying sense of release from the world.

KO: What is your favorite film?

Megan: Life Is Beautiful ( La Vita e Bella) directed by Roberto Benigni.

KO: Who is your favorite fashion designer?

Megan: I can always recognize a designer that focuses on forward thinking within the details & cuts, along with a good hold on material. I enjoy Canadian designer Ilan Elfassy, creator of Soia & Kyo for those reasons. Local Calgary designer, Lauren Bagliore also does a spectacular job with new materials and good cuts.

KO: What are the staples of your wardrobe?

Megan: Various seasonal scarf’s, a fitted leather jacket, booties with a heel. Lately I have come across some good shoe finds from Top Shop.

KO: What kind of music do you like to listen to while you are working?

Megan: Music is a big component to my practice. The energy from music provokes feeling, and feeling triggers memory. This stimulant alone will pull through or transform my work. I’m all over the map when it comes to my music collection, and it depends on what side of me I want to bring out. My go-to’s are : Kygo, Clean Bandit, Years & Years, The Weekend, Jack U, Major Lazer, Seinabo Sey, Drake, Dean Martin.

KO: Who is your favorite artist?

Megan: Franz Kline is my top favorite artist. I’m currently obsessed with following @Heatherdayart daily art practice on Instagram. Her work grabs a hold of my mind.

KO: What artistic movement or period has influenced you the most in your own practice?

Megan: Abstract Expressionist , with an appreciation of post-painting abstraction and color field painting.

KO: What did your parents do that help encourage/discourage you in your artistic practice?

Megan: I applaud my parents for always being passionate with my vision of where I wanted to go, even when the vision was very big picture. As I get older, I couldn’t imagine what it must feel like for your 17 old daughter to take off to go to design school in Florence, Italy – as I did exactly that. There is never a discouraging attitude from my parents; a “be-safe” approach is sometimes is a damper to creativity. I am very thankful for them as they keep me inspired to live and maintain a balanced and humble life.

KO: What advice would you give future artists?

Megan: Find your motive. Do you want to contribute to society through your art? Be famous? Change a couple lives? Release from this life? Once you understand your direction, you must learn what tools you need to have to get you there, even if it has nothing to do with art.

KO: Are you superstitious?

Megan: I deeply believe that everything, even something so inconsequential, is very important as everything the universe is connected in some way. These events are not coincidental, they are just sometimes woven so deep that it is beyond explanation, and taken out of our hands and understanding.

KO: What does your creative process look like?

Megan: I start by visualizing the experience I want to achieve, whether it is through color, texture or composition. Once I am ready, I start visualizing with my eyes closed; I have a pencil in hand as I sketch and bring to life the composition and story of the piece. This process happens very quickly, without thought or enforcement, but with a consciousness of feeling. Once I have what looks like a sketched mess of confusion, I begin my techniques of applying acrylic to canvas through the use of brush, paper, and hand. I keep going until I achieve the desired level of depth and balance between proportion and placement. Through all my work you will see the consistent attributes of being very “raw”, and “sketch” white still maintaining many layers of depth.

KO: Where do you create? Where is your studio? I was working briefly in a loft studio at artBOX on 17ne in Calgary, but I am now back to painting out of my home. I will be exploring new spaces in September of this year.

Megan: How has your style evolved? My biggest evolution in my style has been the size of my work. I am getting into some large pieces that span 8 feet tall by 7 feet wide. Large scale in general has always inspired me.

KO: Where do you ideally see yourself in 7 years from now?

Megan: My vision of the future in 7 years would consist of creating large-scale art pieces/installations internationally, that reflect the general study of fundamental life problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason and mind.