Meet Jojo Anavim: an extremely talented New York-based visual mixed-media artist and entrepreneur, who is constantly pushing limits with his art and originality. With a background in graphic design and advertising, his art depicts subversive and nostalgic plays on icons of the past and present, using a wide range of techniques and mediums including vintage collage, acrylic and aerosol paint, diamond dust, and resin. Anavim frequently emulates Andy Warhol’s screenprinting process, combining it with his signature vintage collage backdrops and the application of a vibrant color palette that is inspired by contemporary art greats Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.
Anavim’s work hangs throughout the world in prestigious private collections, museums, and hotels- including the Dream Downtown in NYC, The Coca-Cola Archives Museum in Atlanta, The New York Yankees City Seats collection and The Surf Lodge in Montauk, NY.
Anavim’s work has also been featured in global media publications including Forbes, Vanity Fair, Million Dollar Listing LA, and counts celebrities such as Seth McFarlane, Amare Stoudemire, Sheldon Adelson, Russell Simmons, Alesso, Kylie Jenner and Daymond John as just a few of his notable collectors. In addition, Anavim supports and donates his work to many non-profits including Art For Life, amfAR, National Meningitis Association, FIDF, and The World Values Network.
Jojo has also shown his artworks in various locations, galleries, and art shows all around the country. His art is all about the constant strive for originality, creativity, and expression. His paintings usually feature mixed media and an interesting slew of materials: Jojo is an artist who does not fear exploration and innovation. His exceptional approach to art, with his interesting choice of materials and flare, is a pleasure to observe. He is an artist who does not fear change or modernism. He understands how to pay great attention to detail when it comes to creating art. The effort and time that Jojo puts into every one of his works are unbelievable. He has a full mind of ideas and self-expressions like no other and he is an artist in every sense of the word, extremely driven to perpetually create new artwork and using an artistic eye in all that he sets his mind to. Jojo’s work is an abstraction of the human spirit: a visual interpretation of the infinite complexity of human spirituality and emotion, mixed with pop culture references and witty prints. His work creates a clearing for deep introspection. With his visually arresting colors and vibrant composition, his work elicits profound emotions and internal monologue, inspiring new levels of self-awareness for the viewer.
“I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘I’m just going to leave the cushy paycheck that I’m getting from you big brands in order to pursue an art career in New York City,’ because, I mean, that’s like actively choosing a life of poverty,”
-Jojo Anavim
The story of the struggling artist who leaves behind a comfortable corporate job in pursuit of creative fulfillment and happiness has certainly been told before. Jojo Anavim did just that, except so far his short art career hasn’t been much of a struggle at all. It’s been just one year since he decided to make the creation of pop culture-inspired, mixed-media pieces with logos from brands like Tide, Coca-Cola and Juicy Fruit gum appearing next to cultural icons like Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Moss, and Marilyn Monroe. Now, this art thing is a full-time gig for Jojo. In fact, his work is already on display in places like PHD Rooftop at the Dream Downtown in New York, the Coca-Cola Archives in Atlanta, a home featured on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles and all over Instagram being presented to celebrities like Big Sean and Lil Jon.
Jojo is a former graphic designer and creative consultant for brands like Sephora and W Hotels and is serious about treating his art like a business. His pieces, which he creates on wood using magazine clippings, screen-printing, acrylic paint, diamond dust and more—are striking and fun, but it is his ability to network and get his art into the right hands that really helped his career take off.
He began experimenting with art on nights and weekends while still working full-time, and though he says the network of connections he built played the biggest role in his success, the serendipitous chain of events that ultimately convinced him to pursue art as a career began like all modern twists of fate—on Instagram. Amar’e Stoudemire followed him on Instagram randomly, then invited him to his house, and at his house, he met this gentleman and he ended up commissioning four really large paintings from Jojo. Once that happened, that’s when he started to reassess where his career path was going, and he saw something viable in all of it. Anavim sells pieces directly to customers from his own Chelsea studio and just had a show this summer, putting his work on display in a solo exhibition for the first time at 287 Gallery. Above all, he relies on word of mouth to sell his work—and people keep talking.
The contemporary art world is vibrant and booming like never before and it’s a twenty-first-century phenomenon, a global industry in its own right. Contemporary artists seek the power to astonish, satisfy and challenge: the legend of Jojo Anavim’s artwork achieves all of these things. He showcases art that the public may not ordinarily have access to outside of a large urban environment within a welcoming, creative, and inspirational platform. As time goes on, Jojo will continue to delve deeper into the world of art by utilizing a wide range of mediums and taking an intimate approach to art direction and design. He will continue to build his brand and develop more designs and artwork. We all will be looking forward to seeing what Jojo accomplishes next with his limitless talent and creativity!
For more info, visit his blog: http://javisual.squarespace.com/
Follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @jojoanavim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/j.anavim