Jake Messing - 'Green Vortex'

Jake Messing

Fusing together referential and invented imagery, graffiti and fine art Jake Messing draws on a range of influences including the psychedelic era, street art, surrealism and chaos theory to create a unique visual language. The work has the strong immediately recognizable visual signature of graffiti art, but is also poetic and evocative. It communicates the artist’s vision of a dream world, or vortex. Also known by his street name, ‘mense’ an abbreviation of immense; the objective of graffiti’s pioneers, Jake Messing has earned recognition in the street art community. Mense no longer paints for any recognition in street art, so his name(s) and images will vary from day to day. Making credit or perceived power irrelevant, and the betterment of art and our environment the underlying goal. He has been working in the streets of Philadelphia, his native city, since the early 90’s and now resides in Brooklyn, New York. His images continue to exist on walls, mailboxes, doors and other surfaces despite the continuous campaign of public authorities to buff them out. Messing has long resisted showing his works in museums and commercial galleries but he has recently become more active in the conventional art world context. After 8 years of successful 9-5 graphic design, and concept art Messing is focusing all his energy into art production, and volunteering in special education institutions with the goal of teaching art.