Artist Jesse Kassel finds inspiration in abandoned and stolen vehicles

Date
15 November 2016

Bandos and Stolos is a new exhibition of workout the Inner State gallery by Detroit-based artist Jesse Kassel. The mixed media pieces are colourful depictions of abandoned (Bandos) and stolen (Stolos) cars executed using acrylic and collage. “The skeleton of a 1940 Buick Roadmaster rusting in an overgrown field next to a group of stripped and torched 2015 Ford trucks. A building full of prized classic cars being crushed by a collapsing roof. For me experiencing these visions first hand is essential to fully appreciating the sense of beauty and story behind how such places have become what they are. However, for this body of work I have interpreted these scenes pulling from the texture, colors and compositions that dominate them,” says Jesse

The work is created from memory, with Jesse referencing the fortunes of Detroit and the American automotive industry in each image. “My goal is to create a sense of movement that isn’t going anywhere, as these cars and buildings have been sitting in the same place for months, or years, but they are constantly being altered by nature and humans,” explains Jesse. “I like to visualise the cars as is if I were able to see their evolution through time lapse footage. From the point they were dropped there and have been stripped, burned, rusted, overgrown with vegetation or whatever and the painting is where the film has stopped.”

Above

Jesse Kassel: Tow Truck and F150

Above

Jesse Kassel: Impala

Above

Jesse Kassel: Mopar

Above

Jesse Kassel: Freightliner

Above

Jesse Kassel: Ford Truck

Above

Jesse Kassel:Chevy Van

Above

Jesse Kassel: Impala

Share Article

About the Author

Owen Pritchard

Owen joined It’s Nice That as Editor in November of 2015 leading and overseeing all editorial content across online, print and the events programme, before leaving in early 2018.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.