Canada’s Jay Koka is something of a Renaissance man. No, we don’t mean that he’s off designing helicopters and experimenting with prototype cameras when he isn’t painting. But what Jay Koka does manage that not many do, is to slip effortlessly between styles – sometimes in the course of one painting. The resulting contrast is as impressive as it is surprising. Having knowledge of the tenets of Impressionism and Realism, Koka has sublimely intertwined the two to achieve results that have been described in some circles as “shocking”

The move to painting in different styles came in the middle of the 1990s, after more than a decade of painting highly realistic pieces that had gained him a true following, both large in number and loyal in support. This made it an even braver move to do what he did, but he has been rewarded by the success of his switch, with award after award and a place on the Board of Directors at AFAS. Few could look upon his works and fail to be impressed, even inspired. His name is never far from the lips of any event organiser when it comes to looking for a poster artist, and his works are collected all over the world. Artistic success has been hard-won, but well-deserved for Jay Koka.