“Arches Symbolize Growth”, 2024, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
“Pulse: Contemporary Meets Classical”, 2023, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas
Over this past winter Delaware artist Jennifer Small had two solo exhibitions in Wilmington- Walking in the City at The Delaware Division of the Arts’ Mezzanine Gallery and Facades and Rooftops at The Delaware Contemporary.
For Walking in the City, the paintings (pictured above) capture elements from a single day in Venice, Italy. In Facades and Rooftops, works on paper and laser cut wood panels (a selection of which are pictured below) are based on homes and businesses she observed and photographed on neighborhood walks.
The works in both of these shows capture the fleeting nature of memory and observation, and the fragments that linger- juxtaposing these elements in unique ways.
Here’s what she says in her Artist Statement about the work (from her website)-
My art, initially abstract in appearance, records a journey of a day in the life—a practice that starts with documentation through the lens of a camera. I see my experiences through special goggles with the ability to transform banal spaces and objects into engaging formal elements that are pulled out of their environment and placed into my painting compositions strictly for their aesthetic significance. The process of cataloging my everyday leads to the solidification of my memories in a specific time and place and constant access to a breadth of inspiration for my paintings. New inspiration comes out of each new environment I experience whether as a resident or a visitor allowing the work to be an ever-evolving documentation of my days.
The observations I collect are combined into compositions through a process of drawing and collage where I am selecting and joining bits of each sighting to build abstract structures in imagined worlds displaying a combination of shallow and deep space. The work demonstrates loose, painterly applications juxtaposed with more rigid, hard-edge areas of the acrylic paint and spray paint that I use. While the palette is imagined, each painting is an archive of a time and place connected to a personal experience.
I want to challenge the viewer to see the work as personal yet universal. A compilation of my experiences, but also as a way to connect with abstract painting in a tangible way. I want to elevate the humble from unnoticed and small to colorful and grand by putting a spotlight on the unrecognized poetry of daily routine.
For more information, Small also recently joined fellow artist Kat Collins to discuss her process on the podcast The Artist is In.