jes kalled

As a dancer, live painting is another kind of improvisational practice for me; another language or method of exploring the curiosities of the room; the people in it, the sounds, and my relationship to them. In truth, I sometimes get overwhelmed by sounds and people. Painting/drawing as performance allows me to find a calm space within that chaos.

I have performed with improvising musicians at exhibitions/galleries, inside bedrooms, poetry launches, art nightclub events, and surrounded by nature in local parks in Tokyo. Each environment influences the work made. Before beginning, I have some ideas about shape and color, but most of what is made is coming from the location I’m in / the people I’m surrounded by.

**small room with people in it**
acrylic, ink, oil pastels, oil, charcoal, and poems on wood
*live painting* from *a year of forgetting the pines* 6/23/23 performed/made at Gallery Paradiso

I have more questions about this process than I do answers, but I’ve come really enjoy falling into these question marks again and again with each performance.

For inquires and reservations, please contact me here: jeskalled@gmail.com

video taken by Maki

**the title of everything**
Acrylic, newspaper, & charcoal on wood
*a live painting* on 3/15/2023 performed/made at 1oak in Roppongi

**untitled woman in a city**
Oil, acrylic, ink, oil pastels, chalk on canvas

Live painting performance on 12/9/23 for Tokyo Poetry Journal Volume 14: Eros release

This painting was sold at a silent auction and given back to the artist — all proceeds for the silent auction & donations were sent to “Living Stipends for Palestine” from the NPO Mophradat.