Jessica Ziegler | An Exclusive Interview

Featured Series:
Urban Artifacts & Cityscapes

As a native New Yorker surrounded by the city’s incredible variety and energy, I generally seek out the details and ‘small moments’ when light and shadow reveal unexpected beauty in ordinary objects or overlooked landscapes. My paintings often depict urban scenes and architecture from unusual perspectives and with dramatic lighting to focus viewers’ attention on the craft and subtle colours of easily overlooked elements of the urban environment. “
– Jessica Ziegler

Jessica Ziegler, born and based in New York City, left a career in technology in 2016 to become a professional artist. Ziegler studied at New York Academy of Art, the Art Students League, and 92NY. Her work has been exhibited in numerous juried exhibitions across the United States and earned multiple awards.
She is a member of the New York Artists Equity Association, the Hudson River Art Collective, the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club and is a Signature Member of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA).

Cityscapes

My Cityscape series focuses on the quieter, more peaceful side of urban life. Many of these paintings show places in the urban environment where nature and man interact — neglected corners where nature has reasserted itself among the steel and stone of the city. I use the patterns of man-made structures to frame images of organic elements – for example, the repetitive lines of a highway overpass framing an overgrown weed patch – or a bridge rising in the distance beyond a dusty park.”

“I paint primarily in oils and frequently make use of layers of thin glazes to achieve the depth of color I want.
I think this approach is partly informed by the years I spent working in watercolor, where layering washes results in beautiful, visually complex colors. I strive to create images that resonate when seen from a distance, but also contain enough detail – and mystery – to capture the viewers’ attention close up and over time.”
– Jessica Ziegler

About | Jessica Ziegler

New York City artist Jessica Ziegler reveals the overlooked beauty of the urban landscape. Through paintings marked by dramatic light, distinctive perspectives, and keen attention to architectural detail, she transforms familiar city scenes into compelling visual experiences.
Raised in a family of artists, Ziegler developed an early appreciation for color, form, and structure, influences that continue to shape her practice. She left a technology career in 2016 to pursue art, studying at the New York Academy of Art, the Art Students League, and 92NY.
Jessica Ziegler has exhibited extensively in juried, invitational, and gallery exhibitions throughout the United States, with recent presentations at the Affordable Art Fair New York, Dacia Gallery, Atlantic Gallery, Blue Mountain Gallery, Modern Visual Arts Gallery, and the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) Annual Members Exhibitions. Her work has also been featured at the San Francisco Art Fair and Seattle Art Fair through Art Mora Gallery, as well as numerous national exhibitions in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Kansas.
Ziegler’s paintings have received significant recognition, including the Affordable Art Fair New York Fair Director’s Pick, the National Art League’s Bette Worthington Sullivan Award, and multiple juried awards from national and international exhibitions. In 2023, a prize-winning painting from the New Haven Paint & Clay Club’s 122nd Juried Exhibition was acquired for the organization’s permanent collection. Her work has been featured in publications including Art Seen Magazine, Visual Art Journal, and Modern Renaissance Magazine. She is a Signature Member of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) and an active member of several distinguished arts organizations, including New York Artists Equity Association, the Hudson River Art Collective, and the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.

We are excited to feature an exclusive interview with Jessica Ziegler and focus on her two main series of artworks: Urban Artifacts & Cityscapes.

An Exclusive Interview with Jessica Ziegler
By Ariel SU

Art Market Magazine: It’s a pleasure to feature an interview with you. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
As always, we start from the beginning. I understand that you’ve grown up in an artistic environment, where both your parents created art. What can you tell us about your childhood? Did your parents draw you to the art world? I’m sure that growing up surrounded by creativity made you develop an early appreciation for color, light, form, and structure.

Jessica Ziegler: Thank you for this interview. I appreciate the opportunity.
Growing up, art was so completely and naturally a part of my family’s life that I never thought about it as something unusual. We were given every possible kind of art supply and had wonderful collections of illustrated books. I remember poring over illustrations by Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen, as well as books of Renaissance drawings (although I regret to say that my puppy chewed the spines off many of them). My parents were both artists but had very different interests and styles. My father was a sculptor and abstract painter; my mother loved color and painted still life and flowers.
I think that combination gave me an appreciation for a wide range of art styles and forms.

Art Market Magazine: How have those influences shaped the way you see and interpret the urban environment today? Finding these small urban spots and creating magic with them?

Jessica Ziegler: Most importantly, they taught me to look – to really look, and to see the world in a different way. I notice architectural details in a way that I probably would not have otherwise, and I am very aware of the quality of light. I am naturally a bit of a dreamer.
I tend to wander around the city in my own little world, fascinated by the pattern of light through leaves, or the color of stone after rain, or the colors of rust on a railing. I guess the answer is that those influences strengthened something that was naturally part of me.

Art Market Magazine: In 2016, you made the courageous decision to leave a successful career in technology and pursue art professionally. This is a big shift. Looking back, what motivated that transition, and what has the journey taught you about creativity and personal fulfillment?

Jessica Ziegler: My sister asked me that question too (in a nice way), and my answer was “I always wanted to, and when I could, I did.” That isn’t super articulate, but it is true. It was quite remarkable how happy it made – and makes – me. For some reason, it gives me a fundamental sense of both peace and joy. I am not saying that it is easy. There are plenty of times when I feel frustrated and fed up and think I will never get it right. It isn’t all sweetness and light for any artist, but there is a lot of sweetness and light.

Art Market Magazine: Looking back, do you think your years in technology still influence the way you approach painting today? Whether through observation, problem-solving, discipline, or the way you structure a composition?

Jessica Ziegler: One of the fun things about technology is continually learning and solving new problems. That is something I enjoy about painting as well. Each painting has its own challenges, and that keeps it interesting. In my tech career, I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to figure out hard stuff, and I actually think that both technology and art are creative.
In both cases, you are building something, knowing that the choices you make will affect how people think and experience their day – even if only a tiny amount. As far as discipline goes, I have always been very disciplined, and that has definitely been helpful.

Art Market Magazine: From your academic experience during the years, and having studied at the New York Academy of Art, the Art Students League, and 92NY, how did each institution contribute to the development of your artistic voice and technical approach?

Jessica Ziegler: When I decided to become a painter, I knew I had a lot to learn. I started with drawing, taking classes at all of those schools in basic drawing, perspective, and the Bargue method. I also sketched every day and went to life-drawing sessions (which I still do). It was interesting to discover how much drawing exhausted my brain in the beginning. It was almost as if I had to re-wire it to be able to translate the 3d world into 2d. I read a lot of books and copied drawings, sketched dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum, and statues at the Metropolitan Museum. Everything I could.

The New York Academy of Art was really foundational for me, as it has a tradition of focusing on technique and realist art.
I learned a lot about composition and values, as well as watercolor and oil techniques. At the 92NY, I studied pastel and came to love the immediacy and color of that medium. I don’t like the dust, but I still do pastel studies when I want to build up energy and get out of my own head. Honestly, I could go on forever with the list of amazing teachers I have had over the last 10 years, every one of whom contributed to my understanding and approach in ways I couldn’t have foreseen.

​
Art Market Magazine: In your fantastic series of artworks, Cityscapes, your paintings often focus on unusual architectural details, bridges, ironwork, and overlooked corners of New York City. What first inspired you to look beyond the obvious landmarks and discover beauty in the city’s quieter, often unnoticed spaces?

Jessica Ziegler: Maybe the seeds of the idea were planted one summer when I was 17, and every morning, I would walk past an abandoned lot with big rusting machinery. I always wanted to paint it, and though I never did, I always remembered it. So now I do paint things like that. Also, although I like the busyness and street life of the city, I am basically a quiet person and like its quiet corners. Finally, to the question of ‘why paint the Henry Hudson Parkway’, much of the answer is just that ‘it is there’. Walking by it so often along the river, I came to love its shapes, colors, and changing shadows in different light.

Art Market Magazine: Light plays a central role in your work, often transforming ordinary scenes into something almost theatrical. Do you use photography to capture a specific moment and base the painting on it? Do you paint in the studio or in the open air?

Jessica Ziegler: I take hundreds and hundreds of photographs, particularly in the spring and fall, when slanting light casts interesting shadows. I file them under different topics such as “Light Through Leaves,” “Townhouse Railings,” or “textures of rocks and metal.” Sometimes an image lingers in my mind for months or even years before I go back to it to see if it makes an interesting painting. Other times, I am working on a series, so I will go through all the images for that topic, zoom in on the details, look for interesting subjects, and play with compositions. I paint in the studio using photographs because I am always trying to capture a fleeting moment when the light is just right. Of course, sometimes paintings have their own ideas of what they want to be, and then I have to let them have their way.

Art Market Magazine: In your fascinating series Urban Artifacts, you focus on small details that invite viewers to pause and notice what might otherwise go unseen. In large, busy cities such as New York and London, do you see your paintings as an invitation to slow down and engage more deeply with our surroundings?

Jessica Ziegler: Definitely. It is both wonderful and somewhat heartbreaking to realize how much energy, care, craftsmanship, and dreams are packed into the details of these cities, yet how often no one stops to look at them. What a cornucopia of stuff to look at! How interesting, how beguiling, how grateful I am that someone took the trouble to make all of these things.

Urban Artifacts
“Recently, I have been working on a series of paintings of wrought-iron railings that explore this subject from different points of view and in a variety of contexts, from stark metal surroundings to verdant foliage to colorful and varied architectural backgrounds. Some are extreme close-ups; others show more ‘ordinary’ perspectives, with a focus on light, shadow, and surrounding elements. ”
– Jessica Ziegler

Art Market Magazine: In this series, Urban Artifacts, you can actually feel the enormous appreciation for details and the aesthetic environment around us in urban life. From your point of view, what is the role of aesthetics in everyday life? What positive influence does it have on our bodies and souls?

Jessica Ziegler: Aesthetics are so much a part of my life that I can’t even imagine living in a world without art and design. In the simplest terms, it brings joy and peace.

Art Market Magazine: Most of your paintings in both series are small in size – Usually no larger than 40 cm, made with oil on paper or panel. Do you feel more comfortable with small-sized paintings, or is it a more strategic approach for sales?

Jessica Ziegler: There isn’t a single answer to that question. The scale of a painting is part of my emotional response to the subject. Some of the details I paint – for example, a drainpipe, or a shadow thrown by an iron railing, or a couple of plump pigeons – just feel more honest and intimate at a small scale. On a large scale, they might still be interesting, but they have a totally different feeling.
To me, landscapes call for a bigger, more open canvas. The parkway images fall kind of in the middle. The structure’s shapes and colors are beautiful, but I am not sure whether people would want a very large painting of a parkway arch.
On the practical side, small paintings fit easily into corners and hallways and smaller rooms – and of course, they are less expensive, which makes them more accessible. I do think it is important to have a mix of sizes, though, since collectors are also looking for pieces for larger spaces, and there is a market for art in commercial spaces.

Art Market Magazine: Several of your recent works have received awards and recognition in national exhibitions. Has this growing recognition influenced your confidence or direction as an artist, or do you remain guided primarily by personal curiosity and observation?

Jessica Ziegler: I am pretty human in that regard – I do care that people like my work, and the recognition I have received has made me feel very encouraged. Painting brings me joy, and I am really happy to know it brings joy to others as well.
Of course, nothing really compares to the feeling of being in the midst of painting and suddenly seeing sunlight emerge from the canvas, or an object suddenly look so real that I feel as though I have created a new world.
I guess I would say that no external recognition can replace what I feel in the studio, and this is what, at the end of the day, really guides me.

Art Market Magazine: From your years of experience in participating in exhibitions, art fairs, and international competitions, what advice do you have to the young artist who is looking to build their reputation and sell their works?

Jessica Ziegler: The hardest thing — and I say this as someone who spent years in the technology before making this leap — is that being an artist actually requires you to be two completely different people: the creative one, lost in her work, and the business one who has to keep up with social media, build a website, approach galleries, network, apply for exhibits, and keep track of everything. These two people are almost opposites, and switching between them can be tiring and disorienting. Therefore, my most practical advice is to keep these two worlds on separate schedules – then you can actually focus and avoid feeling constantly distracted or guilty that you aren’t spending enough time on one or the other.

Website: jessicazieglerart.com
Instagram: @jessica_ziegle r