Artist Spotlight - Jaclayvious Emmanuel

By Sundi Rose

In a world full of art and artists, finding someone new is like finding out Hershey’s is making a new candy, and Jaclayvious Emmanuel is just that.

A wonderful surprise.

Untitled - 2019 Acrylic, Paint Marker & Charcoal on Canvas

Born here in Columbus, he has also lived in Seattle, Detroit and Atlanta before returning to this comfortable home a few years ago. Jaclayvious, aka Clay, has as much talent as he has humility. As we sat talking I learned he is a painter, who mostly lends his time to oil, acrylic, and chalk, and still has a passion for street art and graffiti. He is also a person who values his community, particularly his skateboarding collective, in a big way.

Jaclayvious Emmanuel

I found all of his work strikingly genuine and palpable.

At just 28 years old, you may think him shy at first, but you’ll quickly find he is an old soul. You’ll catch him reading philosophers like Alvin Carl Plantinga, who loves to contemplate religion, epistemology, and logic. He can just as easily talk to you about the ideas of astrophysicist Hugh Ross and the intricacies of old Earth creation as he can about Japanese culture. Although he doesn’t like to talk about himself at length, it is very easy to see that still waters run extremely deep.

He is incredibly warm and inviting.

Chaos - 12x16 Acrylic, Spray Paint, Paint Marker, Wax Crayon, Crackle Paste, Charcoal, & Sharpie on Canvas

Jaclayvious definitely doesn’t fit the mold of what society considers a man of his age to be. He stated that he isn’t “trendy” and chuckled a little when I asked him if he was on TikTok. Instead he’s the type you’ll find watching classic movies from the 1960s, and particularly if they are French and shot in the anamorphic style.

Pigeons

He admits he is choosy when it comes to the latest movies and music, and when I ask him what he’s really loving right now, he names Frank Ocean as one of his favorites. And he absolutely lights up when he talks about his skating community at the Cuckoo’s Nest (1326 10th Ave). It’s a small, supportive group, and he draws a lot of inspiration from the people in his circle. He informed me he’s been skating since he could walk, and says it’s deeply entangled with his love and appreciation of hip hop and it”s certainly reflected in his work.

Untitled 2021

Deeply religious, he draws from his faith as a Christian and his experience as a former atheist. You can hear how thoughtful he is about his own beliefs and value system, and it’s his faith that fuels the themes of human connection and hope in his work. He will find himself inadvertently working Biblical stories or figures into his pieces, sometimes not even realizing it until he’s deep into it. He is also interested in exploring the conflict between good and bad in humans, and a lot of his work reflects his belief in the nature of humans to want to strive for good.

Self-taught, his roots are in technical drawing. He was seven the first time he remembers sketching something and feeling really proud of it, although he was reluctant to even tell this story about himself. He always brings the conversation back around to how he wants his work to make others feel.

Female

He doesn’t even call himself an artist and flinches when I do. While he isn’t after fame or notoriety, he hopes to move the people interacting with his work. He wants it to inspire them and remind them to always be open to everything.

20x20 Acrylic, Paint Marker, Charcoal, Pencil on Canvas

To reach out to Jaclayvious or see more of what he’s up to. You can find him on instagram @ jaclayvious or email him directly at vonart@gmail.com. His art is for sale and will be at Heritage Art Center (541 2nd Ave) in Columbus soon. He encourages anyone who connects with any of his work to DM him on Instagram.

Untitled, 2017 Oil, Marker, Acrylic on Wood Panel