Opening Reception: Jenny Wu | Suspended Possibilities
Jennifer Terzian Gallery is pleased to announce Suspended Possibilities, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Jenny Wu. This is the artist's first presentation with the gallery.
"My sculptural paintings explore composition, color, expertise, control, chance, and surprise. They acknowledge the sensational and perceptual properties of materiality and then transforms the materials, from their original forms and purpose, to present them within new contexts.
Long interested in tactility, in-betweenness, embodiedness, and construction, I currently transform liquid paint into sculpture, a process derived from making oil on canvas paintings and discovering the many layers of oil paint beneath the surface. Those layers of oil paint embody linear time, repetitive processes, and material characteristics. Now, I exemplify the layering by pouring a thick coat of latex paint one color at a time on a silicone surface, allowing each color dry completely before adding another layer, and repeating the process many times. The colors of each layer are premeditated. I later cut the dried paint to reveal the layers of cross-section, which I then use to build up relief and composition—piece by piece—on wood panels. The cross-section juxtaposes order and chaos: the consistent order of paint from old to new, and the imperfection of subtle differences in thicknesses.
These sculptural paintings operate as both built objects and records (of labor, gesture, accident). Each piece follows a specific pattern, uniting the differences to present a systematic imagery. Resin coating is added later on to amplify the colors, as well as to protect the paint. These works question our basic assumptions about what we consider paintings can be and what sculptures can be. Transforming latex paint from its original, liquid form—before fashioning it within new contexts and forms—the artworks acknowledge an abiding passion for the sensational and perceptual properties of materiality."
Jenny Wu is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and the chair of Touchstone Foundation for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Wu’s work acknowledges the sensational and perceptual properties of materiality and then transforms the materials from their original forms and purpose to present them within new contexts. Her work has been reviewed by the Washington Post. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums including Denise Bibro Fine Art, Katzen Museum, Huntington Museum of Art, Reece Museum, Vilnius Academy of Arts in Lithuania, and CICA Museum in South Korea.
Wu’s works are in the permanent collections of Flamboyan Foundation, University of Maryland, College Park, Boston Consulting Group, Chautauqua Institution, DC Art Bank, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and so on.
Wu has participated in numerous Artist-In-Residence programs across the country; and has been awarded fellowships from Vermont Studio Center and funding from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation to attend the Woodstock Byrdcliffe residency.
Jenny Wu was born in Nanjing, China. She holds a B.A. from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Studio Art as well as in Architectural Studies, and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from American University.
