Employing subjects from High Renaissance artworks, classic techniques such as underpainting, Pop Art punches, and a slew of alter egos, Jake Troyli reveals a complex, saturated world with his canvases. “I think of my self-image as an elastic avatar,” says the Chicago artist, “something I can contort, manipulate, and shape-shift with total agency, as it moves through different scenarios and settings in my composition.”
“I am drawn to how Jake explores race and gender through his figurative painting”
Brendan Fernandes
Jake Troyli, Into the Fray, 2024. Photo: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MONIQUE MELOCHE GALLERY
Jake Troyli, Sunday Best for the Martyring, 2024. Photo: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MONIQUE MELOCHE GALLERY
Artistic influences: Fascinated by comics and visual world-building from an early age, Troyli fondly recalls receiving a subscription to Mad magazine as a birthday gift. “I was immediately hooked on the artists using their technique and humor to guide the reader into a more nuanced social and cultural critique, which I strive for in my work now.” Equally inspirational are the paintings of the Northern Renaissance. “They’re so weird and beautiful, and filled with symbolism, and a lot of winks at the viewer,” Troyli says. “I’m trying to build my language as a hybrid between the two.”
On view: Currently on display at Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, Troyli’s newest series confronts humanity’s obsession with conflict and the performative ritual of combat. “I wanted to create a body of work in which there’s this central, unending battle and motives are constantly shifting,” he explains. “Most of the figures are clone stamps of each other.”
Jake Troyli, The Welcome, Wagon, 2024. Photo: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND MONIQUE MELOCHE GALLERY
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Winter Issue under the headline “Next Big Things.” Subscribe to the magazine.
