JON BURGERMAN
DOODLE DYNASTY
Bringing Playfulness to the Streets.
Jon Burgerman has long been a force in contemporary visual culture, known for transforming the ordinary into the exuberant. His unmistakable world of characters; elastic, wide-eyed, mischievous, and endearingly chaotic—spills across walls, canvases, and sketchbooks with a spontaneity that feels both childlike and sharply intentional. His doodles are more than drawings; they are expressions of emotional flux, humor, and unfiltered imagination, offering viewers a portal into a universe where seriousness dissolves into play.
What makes Burgerman’s work so magnetic is its immediacy. His characters feel alive, as though mid-conversation, leaving room for people to fill in their own narratives. In a city as fast and unsentimental as New York, his art interrupts the pace - inviting passersby to smile, pause, or momentarily escape into his vibrant, cartoon-infused realm. Burgerman’s practice may be rooted in spontaneity, but its resonance is profound; it operates at the intersection of public joy, emotional expression, and shared cultural language.
For his latest project, Burgerman brought this dynamic energy to SEEN’s canvases across NYC as part of the SEEN Public Art Initiative, an ongoing effort to open the city’s outdoor media landscape to artists, not just advertisers. Working across a curated selection of large-format posters and street billboard placements, Burgerman reimagined these surfaces as oversized sketchbook pages, turning concrete corridors into lively visual narratives that unfolded block by block.
Color,
Chaos,
and Joy.
Across New York City, his characters appeared in bold clusters, peeking out from corners, tumbling across posters, or stretching playfully across a single billboard. These interventions were intentionally unfiltered—raw, hand-painted, and alive with the kind of imperfection that makes his work feel human. Whether encountered on a daily commute or stumbled upon unexpectedly while wandering the neighborhood, the installations generated moments of surprise, delight, and instant recognition.
By situating Burgerman’s art directly within the urban environment, the collaboration underscored the power of public art to shift mood, spark engagement, and create shared cultural touchpoints in the flow of everyday life. People photographed the posters, filmed themselves interacting with the characters, and shared the moments widely across social platforms—turning static media into a citywide conversation. The works served as temporary landmarks, drawing residents and visitors into Burgerman’s imaginative world while reframing familiar streets through the lens of joy and creativity.
This partnership between SEEN and Jon Burgerman aligns at the heart of the SEEN Public Art Initiative’s mission: to champion accessibility, nurture artistic expression, and enrich the immersive experience of navigating New York City. By transforming advertising real estate into playful, expressive public canvases, the project demonstrates how outdoor media can inspire connection, uplift daily routines, and reintroduce a sense of wonder into the urban landscape.
