Jennifer Small fills us in on her work parallel to the show: "High Beam".
What initially brought you to art? ​ Art has always been a part of my life. I grew up in a household with two creative parents who encouraged art making and other creative activities from a very young age. What imagery has historically interested you and why? Imagery of any object that shows a zoomed-in, close-up view has always interested me. When the images show the details of the object so closely that the actual object or its function is no longer recognizable is fascinating to me. ​ How has your process evolved in the last 5 to 10 years? The process I use today for my work of documenting everyday experiences as inspiration for my abstract paintings developed a little over 10 years ago in graduate school. In the past 4-5 years my color palette has evolved into being imagined rather than local and more saturated and neon than it was previously. Most recently I have been interested in combining various surface textures together into a single composition and incorporating more natural elements as inspiration alongside the structural, manmade pieces. ​ What, or who, has had the most influence on your work? My daily experience has had the most influence on my work. Observations collected in all of the places I have lived or visited make their way into my work, so my paintings function as a record of my memories of a specific time and place. ​ What has surprised you about your practice? The longevity of my current process has surprised me the most. While the process of seeing my everyday as a means of inspiring my abstract paintings has remained similar over the past several years, my practice has changed with the experimentation of materials, process, paint application and color. ​ What is your identity at large? Do you think about this a lot in relation to your art? I see myself as an active participant. My identity connects directly to my process of seeing and observing my world rather than moving through it passively. ​ What is your favorite takeaway from this exhibition? ​ My favorite takeaway is that regardless of media or process the work belongs in the same space and can create an interesting visual conversation with color, content, and movement in common.
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