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| Parlor, 2009 (Source: artlurker.com) |
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| Comedy of Manners, 2012 (Source: The Morning News) |
Gendel's work evokes a sense of mystery. After first glance one can't help but take a second, deeper look at what is occurring. She works and reworks her pieces, sometimes over years, leaving behind traces of what was painted before. The characters in her paintings appear and disappear in their surroundings. Faces are placed on top of faces. Some faces washed out completely. This painting and repainting somehow lends itself to another quality of her work that I admire, psychological complexity.
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| The Seeds, 2007 (Source: jackiegendel.com) |
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| Untitled (with clouds), 2008 (Source: jackiegendel.com) |
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| Conversation II, 2007 (Source: jackiegendel.com) |
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| Swim Club, 2009 (Source: artlurker.com) |
The characters are part of a narrative that we want to know more about. There's a history between them that's enhanced with colorful and transparent brush strokes that intensify their emotions and social tensions. Even the space between the people and the repetitions of bodies and faces tells a story. Gendel states that the characters are "in different states of awareness - some are more self-aware than others" (artlurker.com).
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| Does She Know?, 2008 (Source: articlejournal.net) |
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| The Carried Man, 2012 (Source: Jeff Bailey Gallery) |
You can see more of her work on my Pinterest page, Jackie Gendel.
After seeing some of Gendel's work Noelle and Jasper were inspired to make some art of their own. Noelle made a painting and Jasper colored with some crayons.
They were very proud of their masterpieces!
References
Critics Picks: Jackie Gendel, Ryan Steadman, Artforum
Critics Picks: Jackie Gendel, Naomi Fry, Artforum
Disjointedness Meets Cohesion in Paintings: Separate exhibit features abstract works, Douglas Britt, Houston Chronicle
The "Mischievous and Dreamy Flourishes" of Jackie Gendel, Troy Schulz, Houston Press
Jackie Gendel at Bryan Miller, New American Paintings
CTRL Gallery Hosts Toil and Trouble, Douglas Britt, Houston Chronicle
Interview with Jackie Gendel and Tom McGrath, artlurker.com
Jackie Gendel, Adam Thompson, Art Papers
Jackie Gendel at Jeff Bailey, Joe Fyfe, Art In America
Goings On About Town, Jackie Gendel, The New Yorker
Jackie Gendel and Valerie Hegarty, Nick Keppler, Houston Press
My Work: Jackie Gendel, Houston Chronicle
Shifty, Strange, and Luminous, Carrie Moyer, Gay City News, p. 49
