“I guess I’m a clean weapon.”
Jason Seife is laughing as we talk about his name. It’s pronounced “safe,” but in Arabic, it originally meant “sword.” Somewhere along the way, someone – likely an American immigration official – added an “e” to the end, changing it to the German word for “soap.”
This slightly surreal exchange is a typical part of living in Miami, where names soften and get remolded like candles in the sun, and where enclaves of people from different corners of the world make connections and recombine in unexpected ways every day, day after day.
(harpersbazaararabia.com)
An article about Miami born artist Jason Seifi in the 2020 Dubai edition of Harper’s Bazaar eventually led to his PAMM exhibition.
That melting pot is what Seife hopes to express in his work.
“Growing up here, we’re exposed to so many cultures,” he said. “It was only once I was touring the U.S. that I realized that wasn’t the norm. It’s such a common thing to ask where you’re from, because almost no one is really from here, lineage-wise. That’s not the case elsewhere.”
Looking at Seife, it might be easy to make certain assumptions. Bleached hair and tattoos fit in with his past in a rock band; he was the guitarist for the Orlando band Amely for a while after high school. One side of his family has roots in Cuba. The other – the one he reveals more clearly in his art – has roots in Syria.
“That’s the beauty of Miami,” he said. “There are so many cultures, you can’t assume where someone is from.”
Full Circle
(PAMM)
PAMM assistant curator Maritza Lacayo visiting artist Jason Seife in his Doral studio. /Lazaro Llanes
At first glance, it might also be tempting to make assumptions about Seife’s art. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of thing that’s hard to really get a feel for in the pages of a magazine – his pieces are large and heavy, with lots of texture and a feeling of solidity that can be at odds with their bright colors and intricate patterns. Fortunately, they’re easy enough to see in person at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Seife’s exhibition, “Coming to Fruition,” is his first major show in this country.
“He told me that the first museum he went to on a school field trip was the Miami Art Museum, which is what the Pérez used to be,” said PAMM assistant curator Maritza Lacayo. “He said that was the first moment he felt like he could be an artist. So, for him to have this show here is very full circle.”
(Instagram)
Jason Seife, Artist
Lacayo discovered Seife’s work in a roundabout way, but one that demonstrates the power of that Miami melting pot. She went to graduate school in the U.K., and a friend she made there now lives in Dubai. That friend had written a piece in the Dubai edition of Harper’s Bazaar about an interesting young artist using Middle Eastern techniques and imagery in a whole new way … and sent Lacayo a copy, because that artist’s studio was right here in Doral.
That was in 2020; Lacayo has been following Seife’s work ever since.
“I got to see his concrete paintings in person at Unit in London, his first time exhibiting them,” she said. “I really want the U.S. audience to get to know him the way European and Middle Eastern audiences already do. It’s extremely unique work but can be hard to access in person. Having him exhibit here saves me a trip to Damascus!”
Digital Concrete
Aesthetically, Seife’s work draws primarily on his Syrian background.
(PAMM)
Jason Seife’s concrete pieces may look worn or degraded, but each “flaw” is painstakingly designed ahead of time and transferred onto the medium as it sets./Lazaro Llanes
“The first things people see in these pieces are Middle Eastern carpets and mosque ceilings,” said Lacayo. “For his concrete work, he uses a red brick-mortar mix designed to fix degradation in buildings … to repair where buildings have fallen apart.”
Though you might see similar effects in the distressed walls of buildings in Havana and in Syria, Seife’s concrete technique is very intentional.
“Portions look weathered away, and that’s the idea behind it,” he said. “People sometimes think I sanded it away, but I’m not working on a preexisting slab.”
Instead, he mixes his mortar to the consistency of ice cream, then stamps shapes into the surface, following the outline of a digitally composed image projected onto it.
(PAMM)
Jason Seife’s artistic style is based on traditional Middle Eastern geometries found in carpets underfoot or on mosque ceilings overhead./Lazaro Llanes
“I have an idea where I want these portions pulled out,” Seife said. “I have to work compositionally. I don’t want a large crack to appear by accident – everything has to be tastefully placed.”
The name of the show itself, “Coming to Fruition,” is meant to emphasize the work in process as the work itself.
“For the three concrete triptychs, I’m showing the same thing in different stages,” Seife explained. “It’s not done when the surface is fully covered – that would negate the concrete. The medium is just as important as what’s covered it.”
When he’s creating a piece, whether on canvas or concrete, Seife listens to podcasts or audiobooks as a way to take his conscious mind away from the work his hands are doing. But nothing is random. Every minute detail is meticulously planned and laid out digitally.
(PAMM)
Maritza Lacayo, PAMM Assistant Curator
“The physical is the excavation of the idea, and I’m transferring this onto the surface,” he said. “My hands are moving rhythmically. I’m painting that same flower 100 times around a border. The more I’m letting that muscle memory happen, the more perfect I can be. The more I think, the more mistakes I might make.”
He shrugs self-deprecatingly before adding, “It’s the most boring thing to watch in the world.”
His process is solitary, but Seife does find inspiration from other Miami artists.
“I really looked up to Michael Vasquez, Hernan Bas and Johnny Robles,” he said. “And Natalia Juncadella – she has really cool works. I’d seen them online, but just met her during this exhibit.”
What Seife wants visitors to take away from his show is the idea that beauty can be woven into the fabric of everyday life, right here.
“There’s university courses in this kind of art in places like Istanbul. Carpet design or textile design is just a normal thing for people to study, like accounting,” he said. “I’ve worked really hard and now I’m so glad to come home. You know, I was born and raised here, and I really hope I can be an inspiration to people here. Anyone coming to the show, I want them to think, ‘If this guy can do it, I can do it!’”
“Jason Seife: Coming to Fruition” will be at PAMM until March 17, 2024.