Jennifer Small
Artist Statement
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, providing constant access to a breadth of inspiration for my paintings. New inspiration emerges from each new environment I experience, whether as a resident or 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 select and join 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 acrylic and spray paint. 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 both personal and universal. It is a compilation of my experiences, but also a way to connect with abstract painting in a tangible way. I aim to elevate the humble from unnoticed and small to colorful and grand, putting a spotlight on the unrecognized poetry of daily routine.
Artist Bio
I am a Pennsylvania native who received bachelor’s degrees in Painting and Art Education from Millersville University and an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I have exhibited my paintings in galleries and fairs in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York, San Francisco, Richmond, Savannah, Raleigh, Columbus, and Chicago. Media features include Artist Talk Magazine, Art Seen Magazine, New American Paintings, Studio Visit Magazine, Studio Break Podcast, and Shockoe Artspeak Podcast. Formerly an art educator in the Washington DC and Chicago areas, I now live and work as a painter and visual designer in Wilmington, Delaware.
What initially sparked your interest in art?
The process of making initially sparked my interest in art from a very young age. I grew up in a creative household where making was highly encouraged, whether it was art, a meal, a Halloween costume, or a snow fort. It's the process that drew me in back then and has kept me excited all these years later.
What connects your work together, and what keeps you creating?
My work is about how I experience my surroundings, so the connection is my personal journey—what, when, where, and how I see the world. The process of using abstraction to create personal narratives through everyday exploration has been a framework that is always evolving as I move through life, leading to a constant surplus of inspiration that keeps me creating.
Describe your work using three words.
Autobiographical, observational, process-driven.
What are you most proud of as an artist, whether it's a specific moment or who you are as an artist?
I am most proud that I have continued to push myself to create in new ways while still exploring abstraction through the lens of my personal experience with place and time.
If you could be in a two-person exhibition with any artist from history, who would it be and why?
I would want to exhibit with Thomas Nozkowski because he also used abstraction as a method of seeing and interpreting the places and experiences that made up his journey through life.
