Dialogue, graphite, colored pencil and pastel on paper, 46_ x 42_ , 2018
On a very cold and peaceful evening, the Reed Art Gallery at UMPI had a very special guest from far away. Friday, Feb. 2, was the First Friday Art Walk, hosted in part at the Reed Art Gallery on the second floor of the UMPI CIL. The artist presented was Jennifer Leigh Jones from Texas. The opening reception was full of enthusiasm and many art lovers who gave a warm welcome to the featured artist and her impressive exhibition that will be on display until March 16, 2018.
Jones’ work had an inevitable connection with memories of different events from her own lifetime that excited and surprised the viewers’ imagination. Some of the many honors that she has received include being an associate professor of painting and drawing and the department chair at Navarro College in Waxahachie, Texas. With over 80 art exhibitions, she received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing in 2009 from the University of Northern Texas and was named “One of the Dallas Top Nine Artists at the F.I.G. to Watch” in D magazine. She was very interested in art since she was a child, and she urges people to create art in the pursuit to connect with the world and fulfill their dreams. The passion that she expresses for her work and what she is doing is shown very clearly through her art.
The name of the exhibition is called “Unfolding,” and the main targeting message that Jones wanted to convey to the audience was that objects and memory sometimes have a great impact in our lives and the way we experience our surrounding world. Objects and memories have a relationship that fascinates the mind through life events, either when they are extremely traumatic experiences or a simple day playing with simplest objects. Every piece that she creates has a very distinguished and special connection with some memory from her past. Following the question of what has been a seminal experience to her life, Jones responded, “The spark for my creativity started with the death of my father when I was at that time 24 years old and into my studies.” That single personal event gave her a lot of material to work through, but it was also very therapeutic and self-improving.
When looking at Jones’ work, the imagination expands and the feelings that viewers have at the moment travel throughout the media and reside in the emptiness that she portrayed in her pieces. From the line quality to the structure and the texture of the colors, every aspect of her art is very effective and gives a sense of looking back at the very old and forgotten memories that al people hold in the back of their minds.
Jones’ work has a strong emphasis on letting viewers think about the context and not just give a fast and easy view on a subject. Every piece has the ability to bring forth the viewers’ own memories. Usually when people see a painting full of color and objects, they spend a few seconds looking at it until their eyes get tired and they move up to the next one. That is not the case with any of Jones’s works. Each piece hides so many details and perspectives that viewers could spend hours looking at it and each time they would discover a different angle and meaning. One of the students who was present at the ceremony, Max Bushman, said, “The work was very interesting because she left all these undone areas, which made me think more of the piece and what the artist wanted to say.”
Jones completes her work with her own materials, from her own pictures to the extent of taking these pictures and making her work a reality. The process of making a piece takes a lot of planning and thoughtful process, always with a personal and meaningful touch.
During the opening reception, the first piece Jones discussed was the one that she created in the memory of her father. Then she went on to describe the reasoning behind every piece. Generally, all of her works have a family connection to her, which is what makes them more interesting and may be a way to get to know the artist through her work.
When Jones described her work to the viewers, there was an awe from the way each work unfolded to them. All audience members had their own imagination and view set for each piece, and when the real meaning behind the work was known, they understood how to appreciate and read art such as this. It is not what you see in the canvas, it is what you can take from it and what you can create in your own imagination. Art has no borders and restrictions. The only thing required is a spark of creativity and passion for what you do.
