I came across some oil paintings by Jenny Morgan a couple months ago and they really stuck with me for their striking viceral and raw aesthetic. She's a 25-year old artist living in NYC At first I didn't really find them visually pleasing, but interest lead to empathy that lead to re-perceiving beauty, as it often does.
 |
| We Are All Setting Suns |
 |
| Distance Concrete |
|
 |
| Captured |
|
Her works are based off of photos she takes while speaking with people close to her during turning points in their relationships or lives - not the least awkward way to gather source/reference material but certainly a very real and uncompromising way to do so.
 |
| New Territory |
|
 |
| All We Have Is Now |
|
 |
| Past Life |
|
As a result her work depicts a powerful vulnerability that exposes her subject and herself. This deep catharsis coupled with her incredibly realistic technique creates an uncanny painting. A lot of her works can feel kind of disturbing or haunting but they are also disarming for sure. You can get the sense that she's exposing and exploring a particular state or emotion of her subjects as well as integrating her personal version of that at the same time.
|
For a while her overly-realistic technique actually got criticism, at which point she began sanding down parts of her oil paintings to get a different effect. This really allowed a sharp contrast in the lines and textures in her works to be emphasized, as well as allude to the importance of imperfection in good art. This alongside her subtle yet masterful use of color and raw subject matter really creates evocative results that powerfully captures the moment at hand.
|
 |
| Northern Lights |
|
 |
| I |
|
(the above are collaborative works)
You can look forward to some celebrity portraits she was commissioned to do late last year by New York Magazine which will include paintings of Courtney Love, Gwyneth Paltrow and Julian Assange. Check out more of her work at her
website.
