Exhibition: Landlines by Jenifer Kent

Artist Statement: "In thinking of the vastness of time and nature, I’m inspired by organic forms and phenomena from a tumbleweed to a star system, and in particular, the centrality of the forms we often encounter in the natural world, in our own bodies, and in sacred and spiritual imagery. Sometimes, the central forms I draw reach a state of entropy or explosion, breaking apart from their form and out of organized time. Other times, the geometry and symmetry of form offer a container for the marks to live within and push against.
Through hand-drawn lines, I mark a moment in time physically through the gesture of my hand. Lines, dots, and ovals represent hours of my life as labor, repetition, and meditation. But those moments are also fluid, like the images and flashes of lights, landscapes, faces, sun, and moonrise. Without rulers, the wobbles and shakes that my lines express find each piece hovering between precision and imperfection. Time exists as both a mark on the page and a vast, unknowable experience. I’m curious how those two things can coexist, the vast and the minute, as I attempt to strike a balance between control and chaos.
Nature is my ultimate inspiration, and even within the bounds of abstraction, the forms of flowers, seeds, and stars come through. I hold a deep connection to the land but also to a legacy of making, farming, and machining, and these human histories inform my work and process as much as the trees, seasons, and plants. I hope to inspire a similar connection and reverence for the viewer through meditative and immersive imagery."
Jenifer Kent