Canhoto gafanhoto minhoto, 2025. 180 x 150cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE). Courtesy of the artist
An illustrated rainbow
Art
Experimental
Animation
Diogo Potes
author
Luciana Trost
Date
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Intervalo de um cavalo vassalo, 2025. 130 x 160cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas.
(ENQUIRE). Courtesy of the artist
A world with a broad palette of colors—eclectic, humorous, and disruptive, yet also classical and innovative—unfolds as one looks through Jocelyn Charles’s work. There is no way to confine this artist to a single category or aesthetic style. His creativity is eclectic and goes beyond any label we might try to assign to him. From sketches of human figures, barely suggested in their contours or defined only through subtle strokes, to illustrations or animated clips that burst onto our retina through color and grace, with movements that are both caricatured and solemn, and that clearly attempt to communicate something.
Galo regalo cavalo, 2025. 130 x 160cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE).
Courtesy of the artist
Sarau de pau em Macau, 2025. 120 x 150cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE).
Courtesy of the artist
Serpentina dançarina, 2025. 110 x 140cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE).
Courtesy of the artist.
Cão agrião anão, 2025. 60 x 80cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE).
Courtesy of the artist.
As we try to decode the message Charles seeks to convey, the sheer aesthetic appearance dazzles us. “Figures?” with human and animal forms emerge from a bathroom sink drain, hen run and tumble toward what appears to be a small toy house in a room.
A clown sits at the end of a table, surrounded by both animal and human diners, while in the background countless couples break into fights. A man sits and stares at his computer monitor with an absorbed expression, in a spotless office that could be placed within a retro-futuristic—and perhaps slightly nihilistic—setting.
O abalo de um estalo num cavalo, 2025. 120 x 150cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE). Courtesy of the artist.
Pós-parto do lagarto, 2025. 180 x 150cm DIY textural paste, oil and oil sticks on canvas (ENQUIRE).
Courtesy of the artist.
His work draws a very diverse audience. It can appeal to viewers with a taste for classical, traditional art, as seen in his studies of the human figure, while also attracting a more innovative audience and those working in digital media and even film. Evidence of this includes the animated short film God Is Shy (Dieu est timide), released last October, whose premise points to the manifestation of the deepest fears we can have as human beings, combining disturbing narratives with dreamlike, colorful environments. Likewise, in 2022, he directed the video “How Do I Make You Love Me?” for the renowned band The Weeknd, where imagery aligned with body horror is made explicit alongside scenes of humor.
For those entering Jocelyn Charles’s universe for the first time, we can assure a deeply rewarding experience that, much like a journey, allows each work to be discovered as a unique and unrepeatable landscape, and, why not, a deeply inspiring one as well.
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