Jason Seife: Coming to Fruition

Seife, like many Miamians, is the son of immigrants, in his case of Cuban and Syrian descent. His art practice centers on his Middle Eastern heritage, referencing Persian carpets and the intricate details found in mosques and traditional Islamic art. He digitally designs his carpet-inspired compositions, mirroring weavers’ practice of associating patterns or colors with specific locations and communities. Seife subsequently hand-paints these intricate patterns onto a concrete slab or canvas.

For Coming to Fruition, Seife presents his elaborate process in medias res––amid the action. The effect created by this site-specific exhibition is thus one in which the boundary between artistic process and finished product is blurred. The process-as-product dynamic is evident in two triptychs that reveal the progression of his paintings—from initial stages and minimal paint on the concrete to intricately painted finished product. The symbols Seife incorporates into the paintings’ designs allude to both his Syrian and Cuban backgrounds. The triptychs, accompanied by an additional finished painting on canvas, are surrounded by labyrinthine wood frames. The wood appears to seep out of the paintings and onto the walls, as if taking over the gallery’s interior. The frames recall intricately carved mosque ornamentation and have been made specifically for this exhibition and gallery space. The overall effect of wooden frames and paintings on the concrete walls recalls a phenomenon common to both Cuba and Syria: beautifully painted buildings that have been reduced by war or neglect to their wood and concrete shells. The site-specificity of Coming to Fruition thus allows Seife to present a secular sanctuary wherein the visitor can meditate on human desecration, community-building, and complicated identities.