Jenna Gribbon
dal 17/9/2008 al 17/10/2008
Segnalato da
17/9/2008
Jenna Gribbon
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York
Visions of an Insomniac Soothsayer. In her paintings, the artist invites viewers into the intimate environment of her bed, and unfurls the product of her own thoughts and experiences upon their surface. Gribbon weaves a theatrical depiction of the everyday emotions and habits relating to spending time in bed.
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art presents Visions of an Insomniac Soothsayer, an
exhibition of paintings by New York-based artist Jenna Gribbon. In her paintings,
Gribbon invites viewers into the intimate environment of her bed, and unfurls the
product of her own thoughts and experiences upon their surface.
Blending personal items with general objects, and domestic items with references to
the natural world, Gribbon weaves a theatrical depiction of the everyday emotions
and habits relating to spending time in bed. Acts of procrastination, thought
processing, ceiling gazing, sleep and sex find various expressions in her layered
works. Each painting is composed of imagery drawn from memory, observation, and
photographs; this juxtaposition of sources echoes the manner in which images are
stored in our minds-while some are vividly clear, others are hazy and abstracted.
One of Gribbon's key works, Compost (2008), depicts an array of objects arranged on
her bed. Articles familiar to the bedridden, such as used tissues and cereal bowls,
are joined by a suitcase, sticks, rocks and a cardboard cut-out of a star. This pile
embodies the debris of daily life, which both drives us into bed, and weighs us down
once there. The various components appear familiar, yet their presence in the
current context is puzzling and disorienting. As a result, the work-much like a
dream- opens up our mind to new associations and interpretations of the known facets
of our lives. Another underlying thread throughout the exhibition is one of
Gribbon's recurring dreams of an approaching tidal wave. The large painting Diagram
of a Recurring Dream (2008) maps out the various stages of this vision, while
smaller works display quotations of its specific elements.
In Gribbon's oeuvre, the bed is thus presented as a place that bears witness to our
most harrowing private experiences, as well as to our most benign. This highly
intimate place, whose very surface is shaped by our physical touch, functions as a
microcosm of reality where our discomforts, fears and pleasures come to light upon
it.
Jenna Gribbon was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and currently lives and works in
Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been the subject of several solo and group exhibitions in
the U.S. and abroad, including the Georgia Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta and
most recently the National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts in New York City,
NY. Related experience includes three commissioned paintings by Sofia Coppola for
her film, Marie Antoinette, celebrated in New York at the Museum of Modern Art in
October 2006.
Join Priska Juschka and the artist at the gallery for an opening reception on
Thursday, September 18, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
547 West 27th Street - New York
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 to 6:00 PM or by appointment.
Free admission