St. Louis artist Jasmine Raskas wants to take you on a journey into another world. Using a combination of painting, sculpture and installation Raskas’ art creates an experience that blends science and the natural world to create work that feels new, yet familiar.
“A big theme of my work is there are reference points to reality, so you have that familiarity,” said Raskas. “It’s not totally abstracted or unrelatable, but at the same time, it’s not a specific thing.”
Raskas has been making art their entire life, but only started showing work publicly in 2016. “When I look back, my art became professionally known through my paintings, but when I was a kid, I was more of a builder,” Raskas said. “I am really excited to be bringing that back in with sculpture and installation.”
They describe their artistic style as visionary and psychedelic, focusing on the colors and the vibes of the pieces. Inspired by a variety of contemporary artists, noting immersive art installations done by Meow Wolf and Otherworld, Raskas creates “art experiences where the experience itself is the art.”
Each of their works builds upon one another – with abstract and surreal paintings as the starting point, followed by sculpture, which leads to the creation of a new world. “The paintings are sketches and outlines of what the world could become, kind of giving me the idea of the form and shapes,” Raskas said.
It’s no surprise that creating a world is a lengthy process, with Raskas saying it takes years. Though they typically work alone, for the future of their art, they would love to work with a team of people. “I really liked the idea of it being more collaborative because you get feedback off of other people,” said Raskas. “And then it’s not just my ego, it’s other people’s egos to balance it out.”
Raskas is in the early stages of working on two collaborative projects, one of which is a giant dome built for outdoor use. The dome will be an immersive space you can enter, where they plan to host meditation events and hold empathy training. Raskas sees the dome as a sort of “art space for healing” and is planning on being done with the first iteration in mid-May. She also has a collaborative art show coming up at the Angad Arts Hotel in September.
Raskas is extremely grateful for the support of individual artists and local organizations like the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RACSTL). “Every step of the way, there has been some person to help me get to the next step.” Raskas was awarded an Artist Support Grant from RACSTL in 2022 and participated in the St. Louis Teaching Artist Institute, a project of RACSTL.
Reflecting on being an artist in St. Louis, Raskas notes the ups and downs of the journey. Though St. Louis is full of flourishing artists, Raskas references sections across St. Louis where there are “pockets” of artists, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
“I feel like I spent a couple of years just trying to figure out what’s going on. Then the next couple of years, trying to get a sense of where my art fits in the context of what’s happening.” Raskas said.
Raskas’ advice for other artists in St. Louis is to find where you and your art fit within the city. “If you think of the whole city as being like a machine, and there’s all these gears,” said Raskas. “You have to kind of find your gear and then the wheel turns.” They also emphasize the importance of community and getting out to support other artists.
To keep up with Raskas, follow their Instagram or check for updates on their website on upcoming shows and events.
The Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, the largest public funder of the arts in St. Louis, proudly supported Raskas with an Artist Support Grant in 2022.
