Pickle jar art to light up Fuller Projects exhibit

While many people associate neon lights with the Las Vegas strip, an “open” sign at a local diner or the signs of a favorite fast food chain, Jason Chakavarty adapts the lights for his art.

“Pickled - to Preserve or Flavor,” Chakavarty’s latest exhibit, will be featured from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday in the Fuller Projects Gallery, which is located in the McCalla building at 525 E. Ninth Street.

The Fuller Projects is entirely run by fine arts graduate students and aims to feature artwork that is non-traditional and contemporary, said Anne Roecklein, co-director of the Fuller Projects.

Derek Parker, another co-director, said Chakavarty’s exhibit is
exactly the type of work they look for because it utilizes the large space and is more than just hanging artwork.

“We’re going to have a big, giant room filled with neon light,” Parker said. “That’s always an eye-catcher.”

The exhibit features a series of 200 empty pickle jars with a beam of blue neon light piercing through the sides, connecting them all in a row, Parker said. The jars will hang upside down from a shelf and should border the entire perimeter of the room.

Chakavarty said his childhood memories of his parents’ garage inspired his piece.

“They always kind of categorized and sorted items in old jars, and I kind of thought that each one had their own purpose and their own identity,” he said.

Although Chakavarty said he has his own interpretations of his work, he does not like to share them with his viewers. Rather, he said he wants people to find accessible imagery in his work because he does not expect audiences to find the same meaning.
Chakavarty said neon lighting is representative of American culture.

“It’s another symbol for ... the fast-paced cultural symbolism in America,” he said.  

Parker knew Chakavarty prior to the showing because they attended California State University together. He said they have worked on projects together and are friends.

Parker said that Chakavarty’s work is a playful use of light and color, but still makes viewers think.

“I think that as far as Jason’s work is concerned, it’s the combination of a traditionally aesthetic material used for conceptual purposes,” Parker said. “A lot of his work in the past has been politically charged or religiously charged.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to view and purchase graduate students’ and some professors’ art work in an open-bid auction, Parker said. The proceeds go toward creating a catalog of the graduate students’ work containing pictures of their pieces.

“The great thing about the Fuller space is that we don’t have an agenda,” Parker said. “We pick things that we think are going to be interesting, and then we let the artist do their thing. We’re not in it for the money. We just want to show some good art.”