Can a painting speak? Regarding the captivating work of 4th generation Atlanta, Georgia native Janssen Robinson, the answer is a resounding, reverberating, riveting…YES! With a career that spans the past twenty-seven years, Janssen’s unique visual approach does exactly what a prolific work of art is designed to do. It awakens your senses, causing you to see, hear, taste, and even feel every curvature, every color, at every glance.

One of the most renowned artists of his generation, Robinson remains grounded by his passion for capturing on canvases the essence of everyday people who touch the world in an extraordinary way. Embracing the richness of his southern metropolitan community, Janssen’s ‘NOW Paintings,’ a live performance series, is an opportunity for visual art enthusiasts to experience his artistic process up close and personal, from the first brush stroke to the last. While reflecting and respecting classical technique, this modern way of witnessing the creative as he creates results in a ‘real time’ presentation of Janssen’s signature style — an exciting combination of impressionism, cubism, and abstraction, all developing right before your eyes within the time constraints of a single event. 

Janssen’s fresh and powerful approach to creating led him to host his ‘NOW Paintings’ performance series in partnership with women’s shapewear conglomerate Spanx, NFL Hall of Fame member Tony Gonzalez, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. His work can be seen from public spaces to private spaces — Janssen was commissioned by Paramount Pictures in 2014 to produce several paintings for the Oscar-winning film Selma. He created a striking portrait of the actor, David Oyelowo, posed as Martin Luther King Jr., on his Time Magazine cover for Man of the Year. In addition, Janssen has painted commemorative portraits of UGA coach Vince Dooley, former Mayor and Ambassador Andrew Young, and News icon Monica Kaufman Pearson. In 2018, Janssen exhibited a body of work in a group show with US Artist Collective, a predominately African American group of artists devoted to making the works of underrepresented artists visible in association with the Lamar Dodd School of Art. 

Janssen is living the dream in the city he loves with the people he loves most; his wife, Beauty & Nail Industry Maven Tashina Green-Robinson, and their most precious collaborative work of art, their son, Janssen, Jr.