featured exhibition
Jennifer Mujezinovic
"The Beautiful and the Good"
Opening Reception 04.05.13
Exhibiting 04.05.13 – 05.31.13
"Beautiful"—together with "graceful" and "pretty," or "sublime," "marvelous,"
"superb," and similar expressions—is an adjective that we often employ to indicate something that we like. In this sense,
it seems that what is beautiful is the same as what is good. In fact, in most historical periods there was a close link between
the Beautiful and the Good. –from History of Beauty by Umberto Eco
Beauty does not always correspond to what we see superficially. Socrates was notoriously ugly, but was said to shine with an
inner beauty, and Plato believed that the sight of the "senses" must be overcome by intellectual sight.
In Jennifer’s portraits, she is seeking an ideal beauty through a synthesis of a pleasing physical body, and a spirit that is good.
This synthesis expresses a Psychological Beauty that harmonizes body and soul. Each one illuminating the other.
Jennifer has painted and studied art throughout the world, living in 15 different countries in the last fourteen years. She has been inspired to see the differences in what people create in various parts of the world at the same time. What has been the most amazing, however, is seeing the strain of similarity running through it—the whole experience has been like looking into the face of the Zeitgeist. Maybe Jennifer views the Zeitgeist as a woman, because this is what she most often paints. Jennifer paint portraits, and has found that the image of the woman is really a symbol for some greater idea that she is trying to express. Balance, underlying symmetry, and the effect of color and texture are of equal importance in the image. These are portraits, but Jennifer hopes they effectively evoke a mood that can encompass many different interpretations, in the way of abstract art. Always, no matter what she is painting, the process of creation is ever-present in her mind. The process of painting is, for Jennifer, the most meaningful part of the sum of the finished painting. She is always amazed by the way that we can take a piece of canvas, and at the end of some focus and diligence, create a person looking back at us, expressing something we instilled in them. Jennifer leaves some exposed canvas, parts of the palate (she likes to paint directly from there), and various layers of the process visible, because this lets the act of creation shine through. Jennifer began doing this because she found that as she covered all evidence of the creation, something of the image actually died and went flat. Whatever the reason, the painting seems more wholly beautiful when its pieces and parts are revealed. All this talk of beauty can begin to sound somewhat superficial, but Jennifer means it in the most important way. We have always created and value beauty, and she loves the fact that, no matter what, we just keep doing it. That is what makes us all beautiful. Undeniably true.
bio
Jennifer has painted and studied art throughout the world, living in 15 different countries in the last fourteen years. She has been inspired to see the differences in what people create in various parts of the world at the same time. What has been the most amazing, however, is seeing the strain of similarity running through it—the whole experience has been like looking into the face of the Zeitgeist. Maybe Jennifer views the Zeitgeist as a woman, because this is what she most often paints. Jennifer paint portraits, and has found that the image of the woman is really a symbol for some greater idea that she is trying to express. Balance, underlying symmetry, and the effect of color and texture are of equal importance in the image. These are portraits, but Jennifer hopes they effectively evoke a mood that can encompass many different interpretations, in the way of abstract art. Always, no matter what she is painting, the process of creation is ever-present in her mind. The process of painting is, for Jennifer, the most meaningful part of the sum of the finished painting. She is always amazed by the way that we can take a piece of canvas, and at the end of some focus and diligence, create a person looking back at us, expressing something we instilled in them. Jennifer leaves some exposed canvas, parts of the palate (she likes to paint directly from there), and various layers of the process visible, because this lets the act of creation shine through. Jennifer began doing this because she found that as she covered all evidence of the creation, something of the image actually died and went flat. Whatever the reason, the painting seems more wholly beautiful when its pieces and parts are revealed. All this talk of beauty can begin to sound somewhat superficial, but Jennifer means it in the most important way. We have always created and value beauty, and she loves the fact that, no matter what, we just keep doing it. That is what makes us all beautiful. Undeniably true.