Piece of the Week: Becoming Aware

It is hard to believe Jennifer Christy’s art has already been up in the gallery for nearly two weeks. Our gallery employees have begun the difficult process of sorting out their favorites and the even more difficult process of trying to articulate how certain pieces speak to them. Such is the nature of art. It is the paradox of expressing the inexpressible – of putting some deep part of your being onto the canvas in abstract form instead of confining it to a box.

Jennifer Christy’s unrestrained approach to her art makes it uniquely suited to communicate the raw, unpolished nature of her innermost self. Our first feature piece from her “Push Play” collection, titled “Becoming Aware,” was one of the earlier pieces in the series. The effect on this piece was created by “pouring acrylic paint onto the canvas” and then “rotating it over and over to see the shapes that were created.” As shapes emerged, Jennifer went back and added form to the “randomness” by applying varying hues of violet, blue and magenta.

As she added color she also began to make out the vague forms of flowers, which she accentuated with white to give their forms definition. With the piece nearly done, she began to realize the flowers spontaneous formation mirrored “the growth she was feeling” as she started this new series. As Jennifer made order out of the chaos on the canvas, she was also reordering the chaos in her soul. As she worked on the painting, the painting worked on her.  Jennifer’s experience lends support to the American poet, Dorothy Parker’s claim that “Art is a form of catharsis.”