Jess Barnett

Please email me to inquire about prices or creating a custom artwork for your home or office.

Art Update as of 6/18/09

Four new painting sales have occurred!! The following are now SOLD:

Alien Heart:

Machine:

Technicolor Sunset:

Pattern #3:

In other news:

I was just notified that I've been accepted into Projekt30.com's exhibition "Sanguine: The Temperament of Blood." Please check out my and others' work here: http://www.projekt30.com/sanguine.php.

Thanks for looking!

Art Update as of 5/18/09

SOWA was a blast this weekend! Thanks to all who came. Photos below!

Art Update as of 5/12/09 REMINDER: SOWA THIS WEEKEND!!

I'll be showing my work at SOWA (South End Art Walk) this weekend (5/16 and 5/17)!

Here's the info:

When: Sat., May 16, and Sun., May 17, 11 am to 6 pm
Where: 560 and 580 Harrison Ave., Boston
What: Annual South End Art Walk. Tons of artists/vendors gather to display their art and wares.

Stop by anytime for free muffins/cookies (while supplies last!) and to see my art! :) Feel free to bring friends.

Art Update as of 3/22/09

The following paintings are now GONE, to the lucky buyers!!

"Practice"

"Blue 1"

"Purple/Red"

"Red/Purple"

All of these were sold as a result of my show at Achilles.

More art news to come!!

Artist Statement/About My Work:

“I don’t think people are born artists; I think it comes from a mixture of your surroundings, the people you meet, and luck.” —Francis Bacon

I have no formal training in art. I started painting in 2004 and spent the first few years afraid to experiment with color. The result was black-and-white pieces that, while bold in their starkness, were really the result of a beginner’s fear of the canvas. In the past couple of years, I have been experimenting with colors and textures and am more than pleased with the result.

Case(s) in point:

From 2004 ("Spiritual III"):

vs.

From 2008 ("Girl at Night"):

*

“New England has a harsh climate, a barren soil, a rough and stormy coast, and yet we love it, even with a love passing that of dwellers in more favored regions.” —Henry Cabot Lodge

Born under the pewter gray of the New England sky, I am heavily influenced by the starkness—-both visual and cultural—-of the region. My Protestant upbringing seems to pop up in my work when I least expect it, bringing with it the Christian cross and melodramatic imagery.

In addition to New England, I count among my other influences Japanese minimalist painters, Odilon Redon, Franz Kline, Renaissance paintings of Jesus Christ, and Francis Bacon.

As I’ve mentioned, my first pieces were my starkest, and they formed the “Spiritual” series. The paintings in this series were mainly composed of alternating black and red lines:

"Spiritual I":

"Spiritual II":

*

“Like the instincts, the collective thought patterns of the human mind and innate are inherited.” —Carl Jung, from Man and His Symbols

In many of my paintings, I take recognizable symbols (the cross, the ribbon) and twist them slightly. This way the viewer is confronted by an image he/she subconsciously recognizes but is forced to view and therefore interpret it in a different way.

"Afterthought":

"The Ribbon":

*

In the “51 Most Beautiful People” series, which I started in 2006 and which is far from finished, I use silkscreens, photos, and paint to highlight someone I find beautiful and interesting. So far I have used the musician PJ Harvey and my friend John as subjects. I have 49 portraits to go in this series.

"PJ":

"John":

*

“The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people.” —Dian Fossey

Gorillas are featured in two of my works, “Gorillas in the Fucking Mist” and “Freedom Isn’t Free.” The idea of the gorilla as used in an artistic context entered my consciousness when I began to study the works of Francis Bacon, whose art and life I greatly admire. Then the animals themselves began to pop into my work when I least expected it.

"Gorillas in the Fucking Mist":

"Freedom Isn't Free":

*

[This artist statement is a work in progress. To be continued...]

Exhibitions:

Current:

“Sanguine: The Temperament of Blood” / Online exhibition / Projekt30.com

Past:

Group exhibition/sale / SOWA Art Walk / 560 Harrison Ave., South End / May 16-17, 2009

Group exhibition/sale / Beacon Hill Art Walk / Beacon Hill, Boston, MA / June 7, 2009 / Noon to 6 p.m.

Exhibition / First Church of Jamaica Plain, Unitarian Universalist / Sunday Night Alive / March 29, 2009 / 6 to 8 p.m.

Joint exhibition / Achilles / 283 Summer St., Boston, MA / January to February 2009 / Reception: January 21, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Exhibition / French Press Coffee / Brighton, MA / December 2008 to January 2009

Exhibition / Jamaica Plain Branch Library / Jamaica Plain, MA / November 6 to 29

JP Artists’ Ball / Silent auction/group exhibition / Jamaica Plain, MA / October 18, 2008

Mus-Art, group exhibition / The Greatest Bar / Boston, MA / August 21, 2008

Group exhibition/sale / Beacon Hill Art Walk / Boston, MA / June 1, 2008

Solo show / Jamaica Plain First Thursdays / Countrywide Home Loans / Jamaica Plain, MA / December 2007

Solo exhibition / Bukowski’s / Inman Square, Cambridge, MA / September 2007

“Betty” / Group exhibition / Harbor Art Gallery, UMass Boston / Boston, MA / March 2007

Charity auction/group exhibition / Ritz Carlton / Boston, MA / November 2006

“Seekers and Visions” / Group exhibition / Gallery 181 / Lawrence, MA / Fall 2006

Exhibition / Java Joe's / Jamaica Plain, MA / January 2006

Group exhibition/sale / South End Art Walk / Boston, MA / May 2005 and May 2006

Group exhibition / Winter art show / MATV Gallery / Malden, MA / January to February 2005