Today we’d like to introduce you to Jed-Lee Metayer.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Painting began as an act of survival, a way to process the loss of my father, Rev. Marcel Metayer during the pandemic and rediscover my sense of self. He was the founder and head pastor of the church I grew up in Renaissance Evangelical Baptist Tabernacle
After my dad died when I was just 19. I felt like I lost a part of me. I was his only son, and from the moment I could walk I was hailed his successor. A lot of who I was revolves around him. So when he got sick and I felt that my prayer for healing went unanswered, I let my faith die with him.
I began down a very self destructive path. I would do anything to cope and escape my thoughts for even just a moment. I made reckless young adult decisions that reality as a whole let me off easy for. It felt as if I could fall down a flight of stairs and land on my feet. Maybe I was lucky.
I stopped attending church and I didn’t know how to connect with my friends anymore. I didn’t want to burden them. But at the same time I desperately wanted to be understood. I lost joy in almost everything.
I felt that I had no where to put these very painful but incredibly valid emotions. So I decided to channel them into my canvases as a journeyed towards finding meaning in life again.
I began to realize this is what I needed. A space where I could just pour out everything without even having to use words. Just colors and shapes and symbols. They acted as diary entries for me. Where I could sit with my thoughts in a healthy way and start to finally see myself again. With every painting completed I became lighter.
This progressing mental clarity brought me to therapy, as I felt I needed professional help redefining myself from my trauma. Slowly I began to heal. I could never go back to who I was but I started to become someone new.
I started taking my mom to church again. Anytime I saw a member they told me how much they cared for me. How they were praying for me.
I realized during the midst of my depression the reason I ended up okay despite my recklessness was because I was being prayed for. Because people genuinely loved me. And my Dad had spread so much love on this Earth that it still lives on in other people and in a building that was his passion.
I began to have faith again. I kept going to therapy. I kept pouring into my paintings and in 2022 I finally beat depression. A battle I never thought I’d see the end of.
Today I work as a youth leader within my father’s church. I like to teach sermons to the teenagers/ young adults once a month. I also teach the kids 12 and under how to paint. I want to be someone I wish I had around when I was a younger, more anxious version of myself. Give them the space to be heard and understood.
Currently I have an artist residency in Bailey Contemporary Arts in Pompano Beach. Where they will give me my first solo show in February.
For the first time I am showing my art work in a museum. Coral Springs Museum of Art has featured me in a group show title “Transitions”. This show exclusively displays the works of artist in the SOBRA collective. In my opinion, full of the brightest creatives Broward County has to offer. This show focuses on themes of Growth and Changes and deemed that I fit so well with the show that they used my work on the promotional cards!
I truly never expected anything in this journey. I started painting for me. To help cope. To heal. To connect. But to see that the work is resonating with others. Helps people feel mesmerized and peaceful. Means the absolute world to me
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Fun fact: I am red green color blind. Something I found out as I started to work on my first paintings. I often mistake colors for one another. Sometimes it is an obstacle, other times it leads me to work with color palettes I may not have thought of otherwise. The more I engage with contrasts and combination in colors, the easier it is for me to engage with color in my every day life.
Due to my issues with color blindness, I decided to lean away from working with acrylic paints and more towards water based spray paint for my works. My color blindness primarily affects my ability to work with hues, so blending color is a nightmare. One day I went to Wynwood and some graffiti artists taught me how to make gradients with spray paint. Now it is a technique I will never stray from.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In a world that often denies men the freedom to express emotion, the canvas became my sanctuary, a space where grief could transform into creation. What started as therapy evolved into a practice of reflection and renewal, revealing the profound power of art as a tool for healing.
My ongoing series, Uzumaki, explores abstraction through the rhythm of spirals; symbols of birth, rebirth, and the cyclical nature of healing. The word Uzumaki, translates to the word “spiral” in Japanese. Emerging from layered gradients inspired by the natural world, these spirals reflect the influence of Japanese art and Taoist philosophy. I am drawn to the harmony between chaos and stillness, repetition and release. Within this balance, I find metaphors for personal growth and emotional regeneration. The presence of solid circles or open voids in my compositions represents moments of clarity, spaces where patterns of trauma are broken and the self begins again.
My practice prioritizes peace, growth, openness, and conversation. I feel that my duty as an artist is to give people environments to navigate themselves and their thoughts. This is the only way we can live in truth. We do not always have spaces where we can be ourselves, at times I felt I didn’t. So that’s why I paint them.
I do my spirals and mark making with acrylic paint markers. I prefer the brand POSCA because of their smoothness and high quality. My visual language has gotten me a lot of comparisons to Keith Haring, which is an honor since he’s one of my favorite artists. My all time favorite artist, however, is Takashi Murakami
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the expansive art community Miami has. The city is full of ambition. People who have a story to tell. People who have gifts they refuse to hide. People who are unapologetically themselves. To me, that is freedom
Pricing:
- My commissions generally range from $800-$1,500 dollars
- My original paintings can range from $700-$2,500 depending on size
- I plan on making affordable prints of my original works ranging from $25-$50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Jed-Lee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jedleemetayer?igsh=MTY4enFsczhlcGNkbw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Image Credits
Rezia Hayes
