Drawing/Painting

Contact Information

e-mail:
www.jennyladen.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement

Why are we, by nature, fascinated with others, with their stories, their bodies, their faces? My answer is that we are in a constant search for recognition— for ourselves and by extension, for connection and understanding. I work through imagined figuration exploring the complexities of people and offering something new to recognize. By using figurative imagery and portraiture, the viewer enters this world, wanders and examines.

My painting plays with the power of beauty, at times succumbing entirely to it, and other times rejecting it harshly. I portray an internal struggle of the female desire for the power of enticement, which comes with beauty, and wanting the power of seriousness, which can deny beauty.

In this body of work I borrow from cartoon imagery (line quality, bright colors, fantastical landscapes, exaggerated features) and 19th century portraiture (poses, composition, the interlacing of the pastoral with the portrait) to create a fusing of figure and landscape. In the works, hair becomes its own world, growing from the inside of the figure’s mind outward into abstracted landscape and space— symbols of comfort and home, small houses on hills, lush trees in verdant settings. These images are hints of longing for a sense of home and knowledge of belonging. At times playful, aggressive and introspective, they lurk in the space between the iconic, eternal presence of the female figure in painting, and the specific moment we see a vulnerable and vital human being.

Education

1998
New York University, New York, NY
MFA

1992
Barnard College, New York, NY
BA

Honors and Awards

2005
Residency, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Amherst, VA

1999
Competition Winner, “New Paintings”, Open Studios Press, New York Edition

1998
Honorable Mention, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT

Lectures and Talks

2001
Visiting Lecturer, “Studio Art,” Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY

Selected Bibliography

2009
Pearse, Emma “Artist Jenny Laden Not Overly Concerned About the Practicality of Her Hairstyle,” New York Magazine, Vulture Blog

Walker, Benjamin “Openings This Week,” WNYC Culture

Mallon, Rachel “Featuring + Event: Jenny Laden” Design Lovely Blog

Meas, Dino “Jenny Laden,” Sketchpad

2004
Clover, Samuel “Art to Start With,” New York Post, New York, NY

2003
Mauipol, Sophie “JENNY LADEN: Beautiful, Personal Expression,” Dealer DeLuxe Magazine

Reed, John “Women on Painting,” Artforum.com

2002
Faust, Lily, “Short List“, New York Art World Magazine,
New York, NY

“Art Pick of the Day,” Time Out New York, Issue 343, New York, NY, April 25 – May 2, 2002

1998
Zimmer, William “Painter’s Picks : Painting, Works On Paper,”
New York Times, New York, NY

Hoffman, Hank “What’s The Word?,” New Haven Advocate, New Haven, CT

Judy Birke, “Written Work Becomes a Visual Link in National Show,” New Haven Register, New Haven, CT

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2009
Jenny Laden, Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY

2006
Jenny Laden, ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA

Inhabit, Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY

Then and Now, Painting by Jenny Laden,
Stone Ridge Center, NY

Jenny Laden, Yigal Azrouel, New York, NY

2003
Swoon, Jenny Laden, Cornell DeWitt Gallery, New York, NY

Scope Art Fair, Miami Beach, Fl

2002
Blink – Jenny Laden, Cornell DeWitt Gallery,
New York, NY

1998 – 1999
Solo, Ms. Foundation for Women, New York, NY

1998
My Favorite Year, Cornell DeWitt Gallery, New York, NY

Two-person

2002
Jenny Laden & Jane Fox, Build Gallery,
San Francisco, CA

2000
Enough Already: Jenny Laden/Christina Mazzalupo, Cornell DeWitt Gallery, New York, NY

1999
Samantha Fisher/Jenny Laden, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT

1993
Jenny Laden/Ann Craven, Postcrypt Art Gallery,
New York, NY

Group
2009
Girls, Metaphor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2008
Heroes, Lump Gallery, Raleigh, NC

Aqua Art Fair, Heskin Contemporary, Miami, FL

2007
Anatomical Attitudes, Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY
Curator: Robin Reisenfeld

Bona Fide, Headbones Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Heroes, Bryce’s Barbershop in Olympia, WA
Curator: Laura Sharp Wilson

2006
Flight Plan, Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY

Faculty Exhibition, 92nd Street Y, New York, NY

Scope Art Fair, Gallery 10G and Samson Projects,
New York, NY

New York, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, DC

Fantasy, Gallery 10G, New York, NY

2005
Four, Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, IL

Select III, Corcoran, Washington, DC

Fresh Direct, Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY

Scope Art Fair, Irvine Contemporary, Miami, FL

Pulse Art Fair, Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY

2004
She’s Come Undone, Artemis, Greenberg, Van Doren,
New York, NY

Super Salon, Samson Projects, Boston, MA

Fake Plastic Trees, Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY

Contemporary Realism, ADA Gallery, Richmond, VA

2003
Women in Painting, Cornell DeWitt Gallery,
New York, NY

Scope Art Fair, New York, NY

Artists Against The Occupation, Knitting Factory,
New York, NY

2002
Somewhat Small Works, Aron Packer Gallery,
Chicago, IL

Affordable Art Fair, Cornell DeWitt Gallery booth,
New York, NY

Strong Women, Smart Women, Safe Women, House of Red, San Francisco, CA

Melt, The Art Explosion, San Francisco, CA

2001
Fresh, Hat Factory, San Francisco, CA

Postcards from the Edge Benefit for Visual AIDS, Sara Meltzer, New York, NY

Group Summer, Cornell DeWitt Gallery, New York, NY

Art Fair, Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM

The Love Show, jacey’s all-in-one at 18 orchard,
New York, NY

Changes, Jeffrey’s, New York, NY
Curator: Paul Ha

Feminism; A Global Power, Artemisia Gallery,
Chicago, IL

2000
Summer Exhibition, Cornell DeWitt Gallery,
New York, NY

Sisyphus Emerging, LL Gallery, New York, NY

1999
Artforum Berlin, De Chiara|Stewart, Berlin, Germany

Untold Stories, De Chiara|Stewart, New York, NY

Outer Borough, White Columns, New York, NY

1998
Rhythm, Gesture and Metaphor, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, CT
Curator: Squeak Carnwath

1997
Adorable, Rosenberg Gallery, New York, NY

Emerging Artists, At Here Gallery, New York, NY

Stillgone, E.S. Vandam, New York, NY
Curator: Bill Arning,

Home Is Where the Heart Is, White Columns,
New York, NY

1996
Day Without Art Memorial Exhibition, New York University, New York, NY

Beyond the Water: Los Ojos del Guadiana, Badajoz, Spain

The Most Important Thing In The World, Art Exchange,
New York, NY

1995
Paintings, La Colombe, Philadelphia, PA

1994
Open Book 2, Barnard College, New York, NY

Open Book, Barnard College, New York, NY

Other

2007
Silent Auction, Brooklyn Academy of Music,
Brooklyn, NY

ArtsDesire Benefit, St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum,
St. Louis, MO

2005
Artists for Tsunami Relief, Philips de Pury Auction House, New York, NY

2004
White Columns Benefit and Silent Auction, New York, NY

2003
White Columns Benefit and Silent Auction,
New York, NY

2002
Third Wave Foundation Benefit, New York, NY

2001
WERISE/Third Wave benefit, A.I.R. Gallery,
New York, NY

Annual Benefit and Silent Auction, White Columns,
New York, NY

2000
Annual Benefit and Silent Auction, White Columns,
New York, NY

Benefit, Art in General, New York, NY

1999
Annual Benefit and Silent Auction, White Columns,
New York, NY

1998
Annual Benefit and Silent Auction, White Columns,
New York, NY

1997
Annual Benefit and Silent Auction, White Columns,
New York, NY