From the start, The Jaunt was a brilliant idea: stoke inspiration and curiosity by sending an artist to the destination of their choice, and, in turn, create a print that becomes experiential as a unique and dynamic opportunity for collectors. That is the simple perfection of this concept from Jeroen Smeets, who as both travel planner and art curator has built a special niche in the crowded field of prints and art collections. “I was always in conversation with artists about what they wanted to do,” Smeets tells us. “Conversations always included recent travels, upcoming travels, or bucket list trips, and then I just wanted to see how I could be of help with getting artists to get to places they wouldn't otherwise.”
Ten years later, The Jaunt will celebrate their collaborations with a special exhibition at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles, where artists created new original artwork, all based on the theme of travel and exploration, shown alongside a series of prints from the Jaunt’s extensive print archive. “The location isn't the most interesting,” Smeets says, “but the reason why a certain artist is going to a certain location makes it interesting. What is the story of this artist traveling to this location? What does the artist want to get out of the trip? It's also about finding the right destination for the right artist, and once you have made that right match, then anything can be an inspiring location.” Where the Jaunt goes from here, well, the world is wide open. I hope we can someday send an artist on a cruise ship, or go dog sledding in Greenland, but I also think that linking an artist with an elderly care home to be able to talk with the residents and find inspiration in their stories would be very interesting.” —Evan Pricco
Exhibiting Artists:
Scott Albrecht| Linnea Andersson | Tim Biskup | Vincent de Boer | Lisa Congdon | AKA Corleone | Matthew Craven | Sebastian Curi | Charlie Edmiston | Liz Flores | Tom Haugomat | Evan Hecox | Hense | David Heo | Cody Hudson | Martine Johanna | Jean Jullien | Olivier Kenneybrew | William LaChance | Hola Lou | Troy Lovegates | Mando Marie | Hyland Mather | Morcky | KC Ortiz | Mike Perry | Cleon Peterson | Joel Daniel Phillips | Seth Pimentel | Monica Ramos | Louis Reith | Wasted Rita | Ellen Rutt | Andrew Schoultz | Bisco Smith | Scott Sueme | Collin van der Sluijs | Vhils | Andrew Watch | We Are Out of Office