JENNIFER SHEPARD

Fourth of July 2015

We are made up of the same stuff as the rest of the universe. Yet we are also imbued with consciousness, which lends us the ability to imagine ourselves as separate. This is as much an illusion as painting is. Conceptually, my work is an exploration of the objecthood of painting and also a metaphysical inquiry. Paintings have always served as portals or windows into another world, whether it be a tangible, earthly world— such as that depicted in a landscape — or an emotional, interior one. In abstract painting the subject becomes a materialization of intangibles, and as such the work can come into the world as here/not here— just as we are here/not here. These paintings are like psychic landscapes, evoking the here/not here, nodding to atoms, subatomic particles, other dimensions, other worlds. Formally they are colorful, playful and impulsive, yet are also physical manifestations of my meditative dreams and emotional vibrations.

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Artist is influenced by: Ruth Root, Eva Hesse, Ron Nagle, Minimalism, Joan Mitchell, Automatism, Surrealism, John Cage, Particle Physics, String Theory, Rebecca Morris, Elizabeth Murray, Christopher Wool, Donald Judd, Cy Twombly, Printmaking, Collage, Casualist painting, Abstract Expressionism, Rachel Whiteread, Post Analog Painting

BIO

Jen Shepard is a painter, sculptor and installation artist originally from East Texas who now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Jen’s work is about exploring the mysteries of the universe and imagining separate and parallel realities and worlds. She’s deeply interested in particle physics, spirituality, the afterlife, weather phenomenon, divination and all things mysterious. Jen is also a graphic designer, design professor, and curator. She holds an MFA in painting from the University of Texas at Tyler and also achieved her MS in graphic design from Pratt Institute. She has taught and curated at Pratt Institute and was awarded a residency at The Wassaic Project in both 2016 and forthcoming September 2018. Recent exhibitions include A Hole in the Sky, a solo exhibition at Urbano Cellars in Berkeley, California (2018); Forces of Nature, an online solo feature on Spotte Art's Artsy page (2018); The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, a 2-person exhibition with Daniel Weiner at Automat Gallery, Philadephia, PA (2017); Vagabond Time Killers at The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY (2017); Particular Process at Lorimoto Gallery, Ridgewood, NY (2017); Primary Gesture, as part of Pratt Institute's alumni exhibition at Pratt Institute Steuben Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2017). Jen's work can also be found in the Morgan Lehman Gallery flat files, the 2018 Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York flat files, and the Fidelity Mutual Corporate Collection. She is also represented by Spotte Art, a contributor to The Coastal Post, and an adjunct professor at Hofstra University.

 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

SOLO AND 2 PERSON

2018 A Hole in the Sky, solo exhibition, Urbano Cellars, Berkely, CA, curated by Kimberly Rowe

Forces of Nature, online solo exhibition, Spotte Art’s Artsy page

2017 The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, 2 person exhibition with Daniel Weiner,

Automat Gallery at Spillway Collective, Philadelphia, PA

2016 Here/Not Here, Spotte Art and Artsy, online exhibition

2015 Goodbye Times Bitch, Brooklyn Wayfarer’s, Brooklyn NY

2014 Lost, 2-person exhibition with Maria Dimanshtein, curated by Will Hutnick,

Corkscrew Brooklyn as part of Pratt Institute Drawings Along Myrtle, Brooklyn, NY

2009 Fairytales and Fearmongering— A Visual Journal, Meadows Gallery, University of Texas at Tyler, TX

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2018

While Supplies Last, Gift Shop Gallery, Seatlle, WA

2017

TSA Flatfiles Exhibition, Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York, Brooklyn, NY

Primary Gesture, Stueben Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

Vagabond Time Killers, Maxon Mills Gallery, Wassaic, NY

Particular Process, Lorimoto Gallery, Ridgewood, NY

Buy What You Love, Rema Hort Mann Foundation Annual Benefit, Lyons Weir Gallery, New York, NY

NurtureArt Benefit, Elizabeth Foundation, New York, NY

Wassaic Winter Benefit, Invisible Dog Art Center, Brooklyn, NY

Nasty Women Exhibition, Knockdown Center, Ridgewood, NY

2016

Making the Future, David & Scwheitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY,

Opening, Space Heater Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

Verblist, E. Tay Gallery, New York, NY

Momenta Art Spring Benefit 2016, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY

Garner Arts Festival with Art Shape Mammoth, Garner Arts Center, W.Haverstraw, NY

2015

Ortega 100, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY

Pratt Alumni Exhibition, Steuben Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY, curated by Will Hutnick

The Air Around It, The Wright Gallery, Northpoint, MI

Making History, Storefront Ten Eyck, Brooklyn, NY

Family Ties, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX, curated by Julie Torres and Bonnie Leibowitz

New Work City, Momenta Art, Brooklyn NY, curated by Julie Torres

2014

Grab Bag, Tressle Projects, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Will Hutnick and Polly Schindler

Line of Sight, Gallery MC, New York, NY

Draw What You Love, Bosi Contemporary, New York, NY

MFA Alumni Exhibition, University of Texas at Tyler Meadows Gallery, Tyler, TX

Family Style, Formerly Pocket Utopia, New York, NY, curated by Julie Torres

Kaleidoscope 2, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY

Transversed/Reversed, Arts Riot, Burlington, VT

Do It Yourself, Livestream Public, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Julie Torres and David T Miller

Bushwick Art Crit Group: BOS Pop-Up, Brooklyn Fireproof Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Material Disruption, Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY

Kaleidoscope, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY

2013

22 Artists, Space 776, Brooklyn, NY

Spin? Art, Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Will Hutnick

Now You See it, Now you Don’t, Terrace 8th Annual Open, Terrace Gallery and Studios, London UK

Spring Fever, Loft 594, Brooklyn NY

The Bachelorette Party, Loft 594 Brooklyn NY

2010

Painting with Pictures, Maria Casita Center for Arts and Education, Bronx, NY, curated by David Gipson

Abstract Intentions, Invitational Alumni Exhibition, School of Visual Arts NY

curated by David Gipson and Keren Moscovitch

2009

SVA Summer Residency Open Studios, School of Visual Arts, NY

4th Annual 125-Mile Exhibition, Visual Arts Society of Texas, TWU, Denton TX

winner of best in category, painting and mixed media

2004

New Texas Talent, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas TX

Paper in Particular, Columbia College, Columbia MO.

Veridian Artists National Juried Exhibition, NY, juried by Charlotta Kotik

 

GALLERY AFFILIATION

2017-present; Morgan Lehman Gallery Flat Files, NY,NY

2017-18 Tiger Strikes Asteroid New York Flat Files, NY, NY

2015-present; Spotte Art, NY, NY

2013-14 Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY

 

COLLECTIONS

Fidelity Investments

The University of Texas at Tyler

Various personal collections across the US and Europe

 

RESIDENCIES

2016 and 2018 The Wassaic Project Artist Residency, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY

2009 School of Visual Arts Summer Residency, The School of Visual Arts, NY, NY

 

AWARDS

2016 Wassaic Summer Residency Program – partial fellowship

CURATORIAL & ACADEMIC PROJECTS

2017 Writer/Contributor: The Coastal Post, Contemporary Art Blogozine

Published:

The Hazy Identity of Objects, A conversation with Meg Franklin by Jen Shepard,

The Coastal Post, November 2017

(thecoastalpost.com/studio-visits-posts/2017/11/29/the-hazy-identity-of-objects)

Waves, Particles, and the Refusal of the Totalitarian, A Conversation with Theresa Deddazio, April 2018

(http://thecoastalpost.com/studio-visits-posts/2018/4/9/waves-particles-and-the-refusal-of-the-totalitarian)

2014 Xistential: An Exhibition About Chance as Archaeology, Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY

Brave New World and Etch-a-Scratch, Two exhibitions featured as part of

Pratt Institute’s Drawings Along Myrtle, Brooklyn, NY

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2017 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

2013-14 Visting Instructor, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

2013-14 Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art, BMCC, NY

2011-12 Teaching Assistant, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY

2010 Guest Lecturer, Borough of Manhattan Community College, NY

 

EDUCATION

2012 MS Digital Design, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

2009 MFA 2D Studio Art, Painting and Printmaking, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX

 

Artist's media includes all or some: stencils, caulk, spray paint, acrylic, graphite sticks, Stonehenge paper

ARTIST PROFILE ON OUR BLOG: JENNIFER SHEPARD