Jeff Ostergren

Jeff Ostergren, Death Mask (Pink and Blue) - Cast plastic, Loestrin (birth control), Ciprofloxacin, Zoloft, Strattera, Viagra, pigment - 2017 - 14” x 9” x 3”

Jeff Ostergren is a multimedia artist working in sculpture, painting, performance, and digital video. His work tackles addiction, desire, corporate greed, legal drug abuse, philosophy, and gender among other things. In much of his art Jeff examines the ways in which our bodies absorb substances like pharmaceuticals and processed food and are altered by them. He also investigates how the corporate messaging for these products can lead us into a physical and psychological dependency while at the same time becoming its own kind of mind-altering and habit forming drug. 

Follow Jeff on Instagram @jeffostergren and be sure to visit his website.

[Podcast Transcript]

Please find the works discussed on The First Stop below:

An interview with the Jeff Ostergren, an artist who makes art using crushed pharmaceuticals and processed "food." Go to https://www.firststopart.com to view accompanying images. Jeff is a multimedia artist working in sculpture, painting, performance, and digital video. His work tackles addiction, desire, corporate greed, legal drug abuse, philosophy, and gender among other things. In much of his work Jeff examines the ways in which our bodies absorb and are altered by pharmaceuticals and processed food, as well as the way in which the corporate messaging for these products leads us into a dependency for these substances while also becoming its own kind of mind altering drug.

Jeff Ostergren, Ask Your Doctor, Single Channel Digital Video, 2:34, 2009.

La Mer d’artista (Second Movement), Single Channel Digital Video, 6:44, 2009.

Jeff Ostergren, Multiplier - Corn Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, 5 Hour Energy, Pharmaceuticals (Viagra, Zoloft, Rozerem, Luvox, Strattera, Tofranil, Lunesta, Birth Control, Luvox, Ciprofloxacin), Ivory Wave "Bath Salts", Jack3D Fruit Punch Flavor Workout Supplement, Mio Water Enhancer, Robitussin DM Cough Syrup, Linseed Oil, and Oil Paint on Canvas - 28" x 22" - 2014.

[From the synthetic paintings series]

Jeff Ostergren, Profit, Mio Water Enhancer on Canvas - 66.5" x 37.5" - 2013.

[From the synthetic paintings series]

Jeff Ostergren, Split Screen - Oil Paint, Acrylic, Birth Control, Enamel, Flashe, Gouache, Green Superfood, Luvox, Mirapex, Blkwater Energy Drink, Purell Hand Sanitizer, Sea Salt, Scope, Sharpie Oil Markers, and Viagra on two canvases - 40" x 60" - 2017.

Jeff Ostergren, It's Your Future, Be There - Oil Paint and Pharmaceuticals on Magazine Ad - 2015 - 11.5" x 17"