In the Studio: How Jake Snowden Is Making Art You Want to Live With

This is the first edition of In The Studio, a new series and venture for Spaces and Places, where I get the full scoop on the work that will eventually make it on the walls of the galleries, museums, and perhaps your home.

This new venture is in collaboration with Daniella Pineda (aka my sister), a gallerist, poet, and curator like me :)

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to Colbo Next Door, where Jake Snowden’s latest collection was on view. I was especially excited to attend—his work was a recent discovery of mine, and I knew I had to see it in person.

Even though I only spent a brief moment in the space, his work struck me immediately. Colbo’s interiors were the perfect stage for Jake’s pieces; set against stainless steel walls, the work spoke entirely for itself.

I reached out to Jake shortly after, curious to learn more about his journey, his process, and what has been inspiring him lately. So to start April on a great note, Daniella and I made our way to Brooklyn for a studio visit.

Nestled between a vintage store and one of my favorite coffee spots, Devoción, arriving at Jake’s studio already sets up an experience. In a speakeasy way, once you make it past boxes and bins of vintage clothing and a steel door, you arrive at an oasis.

His paintings are beautifully displayed on easels, chairs, and mounted on the walls. The aux is perfect and already creating an experience (Frank Ocean, Djo, Mac Miller, you get the vibe). A black leather couch and two stunning green velvet chairs sit next to a coffee table, which display some of Jake’s biggest influences/inspirations: Louise Bourgeois, Suzan Frecon, among others.

There’s a skylight that lights up the place beautifully, yet Jake tells us almost immediately that he only paints at night, with himself. Lined up next to his works are three pairs of shoes, all covered in paint, something he’s grown cautious about since the concrete flooring can in fact become too slippery.

Also striking are the maple wood frames in the back, something you would not typically expect from the Studio itself, but a real tell-all about Jake’s practice— it is all happening in-house. The mixing, making, titling, framing, exhibiting, marketing, delivering, you name it. As we got the general overview, Jake tells us that he shares the Studio space with his brother Sam, a filmmaker—the place reeks with creativity, and the kind of fun nature with which all art begins.

The synergy was unreal. Here we were, my sister and I, two creatives stepping into the space of two others.

This is not unintentional; it comes from a very authentic place. Jake started painting just six years ago, during the pandemic, in his parents’ garage—for fun, something that to this day remains.

“I hated art class,” he says about high school— perhaps why his paintings lean and work so well in abstraction. The common controversy in contemporary abstract painting lies in intentionality and mastery— two things that in so little time Jake has refined. His ethos is clear: art that you want to live with, and as for mastery, he mixes his own paints with colors he has gravitated towards, asking himself where they fit best and what they can do. He stays consistent with materials, all the while exploring and ideating what other mediums might serve his artistry best; no choice comes to him without extreme care.

“So when’s a piece done?” I asked. While there is no clear answer to that question ever, Jake tells us that he’ll walk into the room in broad daylight after some time away, see it with fresh eyes, and perhaps, after some tweaking, get the feeling.

Jake’s paintings have a way of inviting you in. There is something grounding about his colorway—perhaps the most important and time-consuming element of his art. When confronted by a piece, it can at once take you out of your reality and submerge you in it—asking you to slow down and take a moment.

As our conversation deepened, Jake took us through the last couple of years building his practice, letting us know that this has not been a one-person endeavour but a constant collaboration. Among his biggest champions is his wife, Mollie, who plays an integral role in not just the artistic process— bringing the pieces to life with their trademark work titles— but the curation of the very Studio (and the playlist).

What struck me most, though, was Jake’s commitment to maintaining a sense of lightness in his practice— removing the bigger-than-life expectations placed on artists today. By doing this, he has created a process and a path that is rooted in connection, intention, and a wide range of possibilities.

Jake finds himself filled with gratitude as his work continues to be collected by people with amazing taste. He shares that he knows he’s doing something right when the homes that house his art, are homes he’d want to live in himself. As a designer myself, it’s not every day you come across work that can both complement a space and stand as a statement—pieces that feel universal in their ability to connect. Even more uncommon is finding art that you not only respond to personally, but can also translate into a space in a way that carries that same
emotion forward.

At the end of our conversation, Jake asks us, “If you could own three artists' works, who would they be?” And while there were a few thrown around, after this experience, a new one has come to be: Jake Snowden.

Jake is based in Brooklyn, New York, and has really exciting projects in the works. You can find his pieces at Colbo Next Door and some new places around the city soon… or your home. Jake encourages those interested in his work to stop by his studio, where he hosts visits by appointment.