December 2, 2018 - January 19, 2019

After closing Periphery Space (December 2017), I was invited by Kristin Sollenberger, the owner of Paper Nautilus to continue creating small shows at her store. Paper Nautilus Books is an inspiring place for many of us, it is a place to find the books we want to read but also to discover things like antique shirt collars, sculptural porcelain flower holders, engraved illustrations, or a mid-century modern stool. In thinking about what kind of work to show in a bookstore and what that could entail - an artist like Jenny Brown came to mind. Jenny makes collage with found materials such as vintage postcards, photographs, and old book illustrations that she has drawn or painted over often referencing an underwater creature or a unique flower no one has ever seen before. It turns out that she is a frequent visitor to the store, so an aesthetic was already in conversation.

In discussing her work and her connection to Paper Nautilus, we decided on showing a version of her studio wall where finished works and works in progress live alongside family photos, a postcard of a favorite artist, or a watercolor that her grandmother painted. On the day of the install, she arrived at the store with bundles and boxes and spent the morning sorting through and recreating a new version of a wall where thoughts and memories speak to her creative process. The installation is called When You Speak to Me, This is What I See.

Statement

“As an artist who sees the process of creating art as non-linear, I find that I experience the past, present, and future lives of my work all simultaneously. These stages of time happen all at once, sometimes not at all, and sometimes infinitely with no end in sight. I find everyday curiousness, the physical mementos (such as photographs & paper ephemera), and the history and images from past travels to be present every time I bring a pen to paper. For when one speaks to me about my work and my creative process, this installation is what I wish they could see-the beginnings, the unknowns, the forgottens, the lost, the joyous, and the never-ending beauty of the story that brought me to this place and time.”

Bio

Jenny lives in Providence, Rhode Island. She earned her BA from Bennington College and an MFA from The School of Visual Arts in New York. She has shown locally, nationally, and internationally. She has been a featured artist with the stores West Elm and Anthropology and interviewed by the podcast series “The Jealous Curator”. Her works are in private and corporate collections.

To see more of her work go to her website.