SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

 

 

This exhibition by painter Jennifer Rosengarten brings light and beauty into the gallery with several oil paintings, all with a devotion to capture breath and to expose the light that is all around us.

 

Curator Statement

The title of our next exhibition, Something Beautiful, reminds me of the bible verse, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” This exhibition by painter Jennifer Rosengarten brings light and beauty into the gallery with several oil paintings, all with a devotion to capture breath and to expose the light that is all around us.

In one of Rosengarten’s pieces, “Last Pale Light,” the usage of color feels delicate. The artist works to preserve the negative space to create the lightness. The marks, creating movement and dynamism, balance the negative space, and it is this balance in negative space that prevents the painting from becoming static. The negative space turns out to be the central theme in the exhibition. Rosengarten’s nature-themed color palette suggests the beauty of a garden in spring. There is a brightness and airiness that gives us a sense of peace and calm and allows us to have a moment away from the problems of the outside world. This exhibition reminds the viewer that we have an innate desire to turn towards those things that grounds us; something good, something admirable, something beautiful.

 

Jennifer graduated from Wright State University with a major in Fine Arts in 1989.  She then attended the Vermont Studio School studying with Bernard Chaet and Wolf Kahn before heading to Boston University, with a full fellowship, to study painting.  At BU she worked with John Walker, John Moore and Anne Harris.  She completed her MFA in 1993, and upon graduating she was awarded the prestigious Esther B. Kahn Career Entry Award.  

Jennifer’s work is part of many private and public collections including The Springfield    Museum of Art, Springfield, OH, The Jewish Hospital in New York City, and Premier Health Corporate Offices, Dayton, OH.   Jennifer has exhibited her work in several galleries and institutions including The Munson Gallery, Santa Fe,  The Dayton Visual Arts Center, and the Springfield Museum of Art.  She is currently represented by Art Access Gallery in Columbus, OH.  Her home and studio are located in Yellow Springs, OH.

 

Artist Statement

For the past few years I have sought a lightness and ease in my work. There is more white in terms of negative space and actual white paint. I used to find the light by working it through the dark.  Now I find the light first and try to keep air inside the dark.  

I just want to make something beautiful. 

 

Panel Discussion: What is the Work That Beauty Does? 

March 17th, 1pm

Please join Jennifer Rosengarten and fellow panelists:

Steven Conn, W.E. Smith Professor of History at Miami University, Oxford, OH. He is the author of numerous books including: Do Museums Need Objects Anymore?  Prof Conn has published dozens of essays in Columbus Dispatch, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Christian Science Monitor, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Jean Koeller, painter, educator and consultant. Her work has been the subject of articles in publications such as American Artist ,and her paintings  are part of private and public collections including the Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN, The Ohio Supreme Court, Columbus, OH, The Hoyt Institute of Art, Newcastle, PA, among others. 

Naysan McIlhargey, potter and owner of Miami Valley Pottery. His work was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition with Noah Adams and exhibited at the Southern Ohio Museum of Art, Portsmouth, Ohio,The Sherrie Gallery and Ann Miller Gallery, Columbus, OH. His functional pottery can be found at fine dining establishments internationally.

Jay Rothman, PHD, is an educator, mediator, facilitator, and speaker and author. Rothman has held academic positions, including, most recently, as Visiting Associate Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, and served as the Founding Director of the Jerusalem Peace Initiative at Hebrew University. He is President and Founder of Aria Group, an organization that facilitates creative engagement with conflicts in nations, organizations and communities.

The discussion is free to the public. Q&A session to follow.