Jennifer Small

Jennifer Small, a Pennsylvania native, received her BFA in Painting and BS in Art Education from Millersville University, and her MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has exhibited her work in galleries and fairs in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York, Richmond, Raleigh, Columbus, Savannah, and Chicago. Media features have included Artist Talk Magazine, Art Seen Magazine, New American Paintings, Studio Visit Magazine, Studio Break Podcast, and Shockoe Artspeak Podcast. She now works as both a painter and visual designer in Wilmington, Delaware.

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 life 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 arises from each new environment I experience, whether as a resident or a 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 personal yet universal—a compilation of my experiences, but also as a way to connect with abstract painting in a tangible way. I want to elevate the humble from unnoticed and small to colorful and grand by putting a spotlight on the unrecognized poetry of daily routine.

Contact

www.jensmallart.com
jen@jensmallart.com
@jensmallart

Interview

What inspires your art practice and keeps you motivated?
My art practice is inspired by my personal journey through my everyday environment and routine. There is a constant and ever-evolving source of inspiration as long as I take time to notice. My motivation comes from my desire to tell my story through this process of collecting and interpreting observations from my daily life, as well as to create abstract paintings that are approachable and relatable to all.

How does your mission as an artist influence the work you create?
My mission to elevate banal spaces and increase relatability for abstract painting influences my work because I am considering ways to bridge the gap between telling my personal story and making a more universal statement that the discovery of wonder in the most common spaces is possible and can enhance the viewer's experience.

Can you share a key part of your creative process that helps you stay focused?
A key part of my creative process is taking my collected observations and making compositions that will eventually become my paintings. The combining happens through drawing and collage. I am also usually writing about what I was seeing or the location where I observed the visual inspiration, which becomes the springboard for my titles as the work progresses.

What mindset tip do you rely on to overcome challenges in your art career?
I remind myself that this career is a marathon, not a sprint. So, if I make a little time for my practice each day, it will be significant over time.

How do you hope your art impacts the world or your community?
I hope my art makes people think a little differently about their daily routines and that taking a few seconds out to notice what is around them can be a good thing. I also hope my art gives people a different perspective on abstract art as a genre that can be conceptually tangible.