JO MAR
Born in Medellin, Colombia, Jo Mar has been drawing and painting since his mid-thirties, when he received what can only be described as a “calling” to begin exploring, with paper and pencil, his difficult and impoverished upbringing in the violence-torn Colombia of Pablo Escobar and the drug cartels, and his new life as a struggling immigrant in NYC. Inspired by a fascination with the human figure and the myriad faces he passed everyday on the streets of New York, his vision of creating art became increasingly urgent and central to his life.
Entirely self-taught as an artist and painter, Jo Mar had a successful career in IT for 11 years before enrolling in The New York Academy of Art’s MFA Program.
Jo Mar’s approach to his work is painstaking and elaborate; he has an obsession for details that render his work simultaneously real and surreal. Every subject wears a costume hand-made by Jo Mar. His vision for each work is demanding and comprehensive, and the results are luminous and deep. He explores his subjects from the inside out, rendering every imperfection in a visceral attempt to create a perfect, seamless whole.