JEFF CONDIT

Jeff was born in Portland, Oregon, where his early interest in visual arts led him to study at the Museum Art School and Portland State University. His education provided a strong foundation in design, composition, and art history, skills that would prove instrumental when he joined his father’s commercial photography studio. In that professional environment, Jeff refined his technical abilities while gaining a deep understanding of the photographic image as both a craft and a form of communication. Yet, it was his grounding in fine art principles that allowed him to push beyond the demands of commercial work and to begin developing a personal, exploratory approach to image-making.

As his career evolved, Jeff made a deliberate transition away from commercial photography to dedicate himself fully to his personal practice. Photography remained central to his process, but instead of being the final product, it became the point of departure. His current body of work treats the photograph as raw material, a foundation upon which new visual narratives are built through collage.

Jeff describes his collage-making as similar to assembling a puzzle—images are carefully placed on canvas or hardboard, and through layering, removal, and reconfiguration, new connections are formed. The process is at once controlled and flexible, allowing him to manipulate elements until the composition achieves both balance and tension. His work is not restricted by scale or shape, though the square format has become a recurring motif, offering a sense of equilibrium while inviting variations within its boundaries.

Technically, Jeff employs a hybrid process that merges digital and traditional methods. His photographs are printed on transparent film using a large-format printer, then fused to canvas with acrylic mediums. This technique creates a unique surface quality, allowing the photographic image to merge with painterly textures. Gloss and matte acrylic layers are applied to heighten depth, light, and dimensionality, giving each piece a luminous, tactile presence.

At the heart of Jeff’s practice is a fascination with transformation—how images, once anchored to reality, can be reimagined, reconstructed, and given new meaning. By blending photography with collage, he creates works that exist in the space between representation and abstraction, order and improvisation, precision and play.