MplsArt

Thank you, John Megas and MplsArt for these thoughtful words about my new paintings.

I am blushing because it really captures my embarrassing Minnesotaishness.

For example,
"While very pleasant, Jennifer Davis made it very clear that talking about her art was not her favorite thing to do. “I’m really terrible at this”, is how she started our conversation. Davis is very quiet and careful to put words to her work. However, once we got the conversation going, she was well spoken in describing her process. (Then she would apologize about how badly the interview was going)."
Heeee heeeee!

Full text here.

New Paintings

These are my new paintings from "Flourish" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I have posted more detailed views of these works over on my Flickr page and they are for sale in my Etsy shop.

Reverence, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)


Lucky, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Curious, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Pair, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Loop, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Pivot, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Magical Thinking, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Brainchild, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Circus, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal/colored pencil on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Secret, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Falling, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal/colored pencil on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Beginner, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal/colored pencil on panel, 2010 (SOLD)



Black Sheep, 30h x 24w", acrylic/graphite/charcoal/colored pencil on panel, 2010 (SOLD)


For purchasing information or more details about these paintings please contact me directly:
Jennifer Davis
jenniferdavisart <@> gmail.com

Tonight (10/21/10)!

Dear Minneapolis, please join us TONIGHT for the opening reception of
Flourish!
7-9pm at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
free and open to the public.

After the reception mosey on over to Nick and Eddie for more happyfuntimes!

3 new prints!

I have three new prints:
Refrain, Float and Soloist.
11x14", $40 each.

Check out ALL of my available prints here.

Very Special THANK YOU to Sebastian Foster Gallery for creating these prints! You can find some seriously awesome prints and original artwork on their website.

GrayDUCK Gallery, Austin, TX

Me and my pals from Pilot Arts are having a show at GrayDUCK Gallery in Austin, TX.
opening reception: thursday, october 14, 7-9pm
exhibition dates: october 14 - november 21, 2010

"In 2005, an independent collective of artists in Minneapolis pooled their resources in an effort to gain national recognition for their innovative local art scene. That year they boldly introduced themselves with an ad in Dwell magazine and have never looked back. Pilot has become a highly sought-after group representing a diverse range of concepts and styles. These artists who are also curators, mentors and designers have brought a national eye to the Midwestern sensibility of creating art with substance and integrity. Since their inception, the group has dispersed throughout North America but not before gaining international notoriety showing in galleries from New York to Los Angeles to London. grayDUCK is thrilled to host a rare group show by this all star collective.

All members of the group are well-established full time artists. Each of the artists has their own, unique style they use in their work. John Alspach, Tara Costello and James Wrayge are abstract painters. JAO paints while in a state of intense aerobic activity to create work about energy and movement. Amy Rice and Jennifer Davis have an illustrative, whimsical feel to their work. Yuri Arajs combines found material and precise mark making. John Diebel creates cartoon-inspired line drawings, while Ben Olson is a popular self-portraitist and Terrence Payne works in oil pastels. Each member brings to the group an individual vision and style, but a clever pop-art sensibility makes them coherent as a group."



608 w monroe street | suite c | austin tx 78704
duckduck@grayduckgallery.com | 512.826.5334
www.grayduckgallery.com

Sebastian Foster Gallery

I am so happy to join the amazing roster of artists at Sebastian Foster Gallery in Austin, TX. I have several paintings (see below) and new prints (!) listed for sale via their website now.

- haunted, acrylic/charcoal/graphite on panel, 8x10"

- remember, acrylic/graphite/charcoal on paper, 22x30"

-horseback ride, 12x16", acrylic/graphite

- soloist, 12x16", acrylic/graphite

- tricycle, 12x16" acrylic/graphite

Purchases can be made directly via their website.

Frankie Magazine 2011 Calendar

UPDATE: This calendar is sold out.
The Frankie Magazine 2011 Calendar is now available via their online shop. It features illustrations by artists from all over the world and includes my painting, "Of Two Minds." $29.95/each

Minneapolis Institute of Arts!

I am beyond excited about my upcoming show with
Erika Olson Gross,
Terrence Payne and
Joe Sinness at the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts in their gorgeous
MAEP (Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program) galleries.

Flourish
Opening Thurs, Oct 21st, 2010
Visit our new blog for previews and full details about the exhibition:
http://FlourishMAEP.blogspot.com/

Open Lab Magazine

I did an interview with Open Lab magazine.
Mosey on over to No New Enemies if you'd like to read the full text.

Frankie Magazine

My painting, "bear", is featured (as the pull out poster) in issue 37 of Frankie magazine.

Art on TV: Neato!

The CSA: Community Supported Art Program was profiled on the PBS NewsHour and it is just plain fabulous!

New Tiny Showcase Print

Prints of my painting, "Tug O' War", are now available from Tiny Showcase!

limited edition of 100
6" x 7.5" (plus border for framing)
Just $20 each.

$250 from the sale of this print will go to the charity of my choice: Springboard for the Arts Artist Emergency Relief Fund

Woo Hoo!

Community Supported Arts: Pick-up Party #2!

The second crop of art "shares" from the CSA: Community Supported ART will be ready for pick up on Friday July, 23rd at MN Original's Party in the Park.

(Above is a peek at my prints for the project. Also included in this round are Minneapolis artists Andy Ducett and Amy Rice.)

The party starts at 5:00pm in Mears Park in St. Paul.
Featuring: live music (by Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps, Nachito Herrera, and the Mad Ripple Hootenanny) and DJ Scott Stulen, food available from Barrio, Drawing Club (with Alexa Horochowski, Clea Felien, Beth Barron, Allen Brewer, Pamela Valfer, Carl Perkins and many more), and local artists selling their wares.


It is going to be really fun. I hope you can make it!

Tangletown Gardens' Garden and Art Tour

Contemporary art by dozens of the regions finest artists installed for the day in private Twin Cities Gardens.

Calling all art and garden lovers! Don’t miss Tangletown Gardens’ 2010 Garden and Art Tour, Saturday July 24th, 9:00-4:00 (with a super fun after-party at Tangletown Gardens in Mpls).

For more information, please visit http://www.tangletowngardens.com/
(That pretty image on the postcard above is by my friend Amy Rice.)

Paper Darts Vol 2 release party- MPLS!

Did you see my interview/paintings in there? I'm so excited!
Please come and celebrate the release of Paper Darts Vol. 2 on Thursday. July 15th, 2010 in Minneapolis.
I'll have a bunch of paintings and collages on display and there will be a ton of fun things to do and eat and see. FREE!
Full details on the PaperDarts website.
You can also become a fan and RSVP on the PaperDarts Facebook page.

I was never paid for the sale of these paintings.

*** UPDATE: I had to remove all reference to the galleries involved as they have threatened legal action against me.
wowz. =-(

Artists (and art lovers) beware!
I have not (and probably will never be) reimbursed for the sale of this painting:

or this big ol' framed drawing:

The paintings were sold at the Aqua Art Fair in Miami during Art Basel in Dec 2008.

Photos of the paintings at the art show:

(The guy in the hat is an artist that I really admire. He had nothing to do with this -he just happened to be in the photo- so I blocked out his face.)

More info here:
((deleted))

They sold my art, kept the money, and washed their hands of me.
=-(
Has this ever happened to you? What did you do?

"patient with aliens, a friend to plants and animals"

The director of Swan Song Contemporary Arts, Cynde Randall, wrote these thoughtful words about my show (opening TONIGHT 6/12/10.)
Thank you so much, Cynde!
***
Jennifer Davis creates lyrical figurative works of serious tenderness and beauty. She lures us into her painted world through flowing line, pastel palette and a quixotic sensibility. Her signature style belies her worry and the enduring mystery that permeates her realm. Throughout her compositions, Davis presents an array of fantastic characters and transmuted creatures who seem happy to co-exist in a flat landscape devoid of contextual cues. It is a visionary place. And it resonates with the pictorial truth of Jennifer Davis’ bewilderment and love.

In describing her process, Davis explains that her images rise up out of each surface while she works. She begins her compositions under painting simple territories of flat color. Nearly always, the eyes (of animal or plant) appear first, like portals into some sentient being to which Davis intuits a surrounding form. It can be said that her paintings are self portraits, but not in any staid sense of the word. She appears in each composition—like an avatar of many guises—her primary incarnation a wide-eyed girl who is mild yet ever-vigilant. She is patient with aliens, a friend to plants and animals; always serving as a protector for the meek and those who can not run. She is, indeed, the mistress of her domain.

In her large-scale work titled “Keeper”, our sleepless protagonist (who looks to have been up for days, perhaps even years) carries a large potted plant that reaches high over her head with branched foliage. She easily supports its weight; her connection to the plant made clear by the identical pattern of leaves emblazoned on her dress. For Davis, the plant is a powerful symbol for creativity; each leaf holding a separate concern. “This plant is her responsibility,” says Davis. “It speaks to the daily challenge of being an artist and of living a genuine life in the 21st century.”

A mysterious deer-like creature proceeds across a virtual landscape in “Preserve”, with trees and ferns riding on its back. She is the allusive every-creature, immune to our classification and control. She, too, is emblazoned with leaves on her body, like the pre-historic horses and reindeers honored by their people with indigo tattoos. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. Indeed, without her, we are through.

In Davis’s mixed media work titled “New Puppy” the chaos of an endless information loop floats above a dog-headed girl, who sits in the void of a horizon-less space. Holding her head in hands, she ponders her situation. A nearby puppy, fully intact as a canine, is not daunted. This, coupled with the fact that she had the wherewithal to put together a stylin’ outfit, assures us that there is still hope.

A childlike wonderment reads throughout Davis’ work; something that continually exclaims “Look at this!” and “What is really happening?” Davis never pretends to be didactic, but if we choose to apply her riddles to our own make-believe, we might find the answer, which is this: tend to and care for what is in your midst. This simple sentiment holds the power to re-set the trajectory of our human future. It is said that the meek shall inherit the Earth. If this is so, one can only hope that the likes of Jennifer Davis and her cast of sentient beings will ultimately receive what is duly their own.

***
(see the post below for more info about the gallery and show.)

Swan Song Contemporary Arts

Looking to get out of town?
I'm having a show at Swan Song Contemporary Arts- on Lake Pepin in Maiden Rock, WI.

It is a gorgeous one hour drive from Minneapolis.
I'll be there tonight (Saturday, June 12th, 2010) for the reception from 5-7pm. Come on down!
***
Swan Song Contemporary Arts presents Bewildered as the third special exhibition of its 2010 season. Bewildered will be on view from June 12 through July 18, 2010 during Swan Song’s regular hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-5:00.

Art and Yoga?

Sure. Why not?
I hand painted this yoga mat for the upcoming Gorilla Yogis event at Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis.
Friday June 4th
* It starts outdoors, where the Gorillas will lead the practice in Soo’s parking lot with musical styling of DJ Sheik—in the highly visible intersection of 27th and Lyndale Ave South.
* Post-Savasana party inside SooVac gallery for the unveiling of Art MATters, an exhibit featuring local artist designed yoga mats by Isaac Arvold, Peter Bekke from Burlesque of North America, Erin Currie, Tara Costello, Jennifer Davis, Bethany Kalk, Mousesaw, Terrence Payne, Amy Rice and Sean Tubridy.
* Attendees will vote on their favorite designs, and the winner will be put into production by SooVAC + Gorillas. In addition, there will be a drawing for each mat, with proceeds partially benefiting SooVAC, a non-profit gallery that is devoted to emerging artists.
* Wine tasting, snacks, and tunes for your Gorilla gratification!
* Suggested Donation: $10
* facebook invite here

Crazyness!

and OMG- look at this one by Amy Rice!

Gallery 360, Mpls

Gallery 360 in Minneapolis is celebrating their 10th Anniversary with a party and a big retrospective featuring many of the artists they have shown over the years.


Gallery 360 gave me my first solo gallery exhibition back in 2002 and I had two more in 2003 and 2007. Not sure where I'd be without 'em??? Thanks, ladies!