We are thrilled to announce Jen Shepard’s first solo show with the gallery. “Please scream inside your heart” was a directive from the Fuji-Q amusement park near Tokyo in the summer of 2020. Patrons were asked not to scream while riding rollercoasters, in an effort to hinder the spread of the coronavirus. “For me this is a perfect metaphor for the experience of 2020,” says the artist.

 

The exhibition consists of paintings, works on paper, and sculpture. Visual elements (fried eggs, a black cat names Ruthie, marine life including shells, starfish and sand dollars, as well as interstellar objects the artists calls “moon rocks”) appear across the works creating openings for narrative interpretation. There is humor in the work, but also passages of dread. Otherworldly landscapes may be fantastical or psychological.  In the gallery we become immersed in Shepard’s strange and wonderful alternate plane.

 

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 inspired by the mysteries of the universe; quantum physics, the afterlife, metaphysics, and weather phenomenon, while drawing upon imagery derived from her origins and personal life to recast experiences of grief, loss, and connection. She holds an MFA in painting from the University of Texas at Tyler and also achieved her MS in graphic design from Pratt Institute. Shepard has taught and curated at Pratt Institute and has also taught at Hofstra University and Borough of Manhattan Community College. She has been awarded residencies at DNA Residency (forthcoming 2020), The Vermont Studio Center (2019), and The Wassaic Project (2016, 2018). She has recently exhibited at Art on Paper with Gold/Scopophilia,* New York, NY (2020). Other recent exhibitions include The Rainbow/Prism Show, at The Yard Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY (2020); Twist and Twine, curated by Paradice Palase, Long Island City, NY (2019); and The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, a 2-person exhibition at Automat Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (2017). Jen’s work can also be found in the Morgan Lehman Gallery flat files, the Fidelity Mutual Corporate Collection, and personal collections across the U.S. and Europe. Shepard is also a contributor to The Coastal Post.

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A digital presentation of the show is available here.

 

Image is “Breakfast with Ruthie,” 2020. Acrylic and spray paint on canvas. 48 x 60 inches.