Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Koharik.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Bedford, Ohio. A small town outside of Cleveland. Born in the late 70’s and raised in an era of tight bonded friendships throughout the 80s-90s. Outdoors. Feral. I am grateful to have lived a childhood that way. The skills I developed by nature, both as creative mischief makers as well as the jobs I took on very young, have given me a capable confidence. No matter what I want to try to do, I very confidently try. I fail constantly and always find my way through it. Art and making it has always been my passion. “Finding myself” has never been an issue for me. My twin brother reminded me once of a story. We were probably seven years old sitting on a pile of rocks along a freeway (making a trap) and I said to him, “One day I am going to have a giant space that I can make anything I want.” Probably dreaming of giant canvases and stone sculptures as well as some boyish weaponry.
Los Angeles and how I got here is a “young love” story. And I am forever grateful to that special girl who got me here. We are still friends.
Los Angeles…the world opened. And those words I said to my brother, my heart meant them.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ahhh, a smooth road. A scarless body. A life without hangovers and regrets. No waste of time and money and materials. Candles you don’t burn. Shoes you don’t wear. Loves without heartbreaks. The words you don’t say.
Potential and kinetic energy. The energy of what can be and the energy of what is.
A boulder on a cliffs edge without a push.
I guess all this driving and I have never been down a smooth road.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do? What are you most proud of?
It has never been easy for me to talk about “self” or my work. My hope is it can speak for itself. I work in many mediums; metal, wood, glass, stones, gems and plasters. I make sculptural lighting and furniture. Installations. I paint and sculpt in a fine art arena. I have a vintage and antique furniture and object collection, which often I translate into something very different than its original intension. An anomaly for a room I suppose. My studio, 7500 square feet, all a lived in curation of everything I do. I believe it to be a unique experiential environment, both as a showroom of sorts as well as an active living space, a presentation of how I apply it all to occupy a space. Gratefully, this work has been applied to the interior design world on many levels. Be it residential homes or commercial restaurants, bars, hotels and venues. Each piece tends to take on a one of a kind moment for each space. I work from an “Art First” approach. Each piece or collection I create has a backstory. I use the word EVOKE. Instagram has been a great platform for me to deliver both the image as well as the message behind it. I don’t expect that everyone reads the text I write along with the images, but I do write. Another passion of mine. If there is any interest, there are volumes written on my page, an explanation of each of my works. #makeallspacesacred This is my intention. Be it a bathroom or a bus stop. a gym or jail cell. To create pieces that emboldened the spirit of the people who occupy them. All space is sacred. Your desk is an alter. Your cubicle, a crucible in which the different elements interact leading to the creation of something new. The bed you lie down in, your evening catacomb. The walls and what’s on them, a gallery, a museum, a monument. I wish to leave something behind that helps people to “see” more than just “look”.
To answer your other question; I feel in this time I am most proud of how my perspective relates to being a father. I believe I am giving my son an opportunity to follow his heart’s path first. Whatever it may be. To find what he loves and burn every ounce of his life fuel to make it so. To love it and consume and be grateful for all the joy it will bring him to be his authentic self. An example I suppose of a man who “gets to go to work” Not “has to go to work”.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
That is an interesting question during this current moment in history. I have lived in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. And of course, I have seen in those many years growth and change and expansion. An easy dislike quickly comes to mind in the form of the losses I have seen of so many businesses I have come to know and love here. Seemingly politically and financially, many are gone or have been forced elsewhere. With that said, I have always viewed Los Angeles as a realm of endless opportunities. Any single thing that you want to explore as an artist or creator, you can find the resources here. Materials and Craftsmen and women exist in all areas. Be it the obvious visual world of film both in front of and behind the camera. But less apparent maybe, there are manufacturing and industrial businesses across the endless expanse. Metal shops, wood shops, fabrics and fashion, glass, plastics… etc…
If you want to make your own custom art-driven shoelace tips, you can find a way to do it here. This city keeps on going from south to north. From The ocean to the eastern deserts. With almost minimal effort, you can find yourself on a journey through this city. Talking with these business owners. One leading to another. Vernon to Norwalk to Compton. Long Beach to Chatsworth and back to Lynnwood. And along the way, there is food and culture and history. And before you know it, what you have set out to find has led you to an all together new passion. I have loved this city deeply for it. I am grateful for what it has given me. My hope is the strength I see in this authentic truth in a very real WORKFORCE is resilient enough to withstand the bureaucracy of what in my view is weakness and a perceived hierarchy that has taken hold.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: jasonkoharik.com
- Instagram: @jasonjkoharik
Image Credits:
Jason Koharik
