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Empty Paintings & Imaginary Sculptures |
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Written by sarah bowen gallery
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Jenna Gribbon's preoccupation with urban migration is eloquently played out in her intimate and acutely observed canvases of rooms that depict various states of habitation. A typical fast-paced urbanite may find this superimposing of personal belongings into alien spaces ubiquitous, but Gribbon&rsquos fine-tuned inspection of the displacement of foreign objects into incongruous spaces is awkward, quirky, and somewhat aloof. For Gribbon, the mementos we carry with us are symbols of who we are that we forcibly assimilate into our current living situations.
Gribbon's two-part presentation unfolds with a series of empty-room paintings, realistically executed with equal parts instinct and whim. She paints objects into the spaces, though not related in any recognizable way, except for the fact that her sleight of hand has matched imagery with space. At every state of emptiness or occupation of objects into her painted spaces, Gribbon asserts that the paintings are complete and, like our sense of time, ever unfolding into a new reality.
The second and more open-ended group of work is her imaginary sculpture paintings. As the temporary backdrop for her sculptural objects, Gribbon has again meticulously painted empty spaces, this time particular niches and sections of the gallery space. Inset in the paintings are her personal imagery, i.e. a hay-bale, girl sleeping, lace, and discarded clothing; however, the jarringly disjointed sequence of objects provocatively capture a general sense of sinister foreboding. Many artists have been preoccupied with bringing a two-dimensional work into a three-dimensional plane&mdashJennifer Bartlett&rsquos boat paintings, for one&mdashbut Gribbon answers her own investigation by morphing her particular memory-laden imagery into an ephemeral object that can be reinstalled into any space. The transient nature of her "Imaginary Sculptures" opens up the viewer's potential to interact with the work, and if so invested, to actually commission the artist to paint the objects into their own personal spaces.
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Jenna Gribbon, a transplant from Tennessee, currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to this work, she paints commissioned portraits for clients across the United States. She formerly worked as a painter and color technician for artist, Jeff Koons, and has recently completed three paintings commissioned by Sofia Coppola for her film Marie Antoinette.
sarah bowen gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 - 6 pm and by appointment. The gallery is located at 210 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 11211. Directions: L Train to Bedford Avenue stop, take Driggs exit, walk one block south to Sixth Street, and then ½ block East. The gallery is located between Driggs and Roebling on the right hand side.
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written by Donny Matthew Smutz on December 09, 2006
I ran across a small article in Elle about Jenna. I am very interested in meeting her. How can I make this happen?
Thanks so much for your time.
-Donny Smutz
written by Joshua on January 17, 2007
jenna has a website that you can find more of her work and contact info on. http://www.jennagribbon.com is the address.
written by Rachel on March 30, 2007
Jenna Gribbon's work is beautiful. I came across this same article in Elle magazine. I would love to commission her for a portrait.