Edition Announcement #229 - Jessica Snow

Blustery and flustered greetings, collectors. It's Casey here, filling in for your usual troupe of newsletter-writing ladies: Jen, Sara and Youngna. It's a busy day and this newsletter is chock full of great news so I'll keep my introduction brief! I'm in art school here in f-f-frigid New York, and I've been interning at JBP since the beginning of the summer. It's a great job* that includes lots of writing about art, running around New York City and the occasional surprise challenge: writing today's newsletter!

First, I want to let you know about today's 20x200-Minute special (that's 4,000 minutes!) to ring in our 9th day of Festivus and the first night of Hanukkah:

10% off all gift certificates $100 or more. Enter code 10xGIVE at Google checkout 'til Monday, December 14th at 9:55 a.m.

To ensure arrival of your prints and super-fine printed gift-certificates by the 25th, place your orders by our drop-dead date for holiday shipping, Thursday, December 17th.

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Curvilinear Time, a graphic-yet-painterly edition by Jessica Snow. It's fitting, actually, because this hectic holiday season has everyone at the office wishing we could bend time, or at least tack on a few extra hours to the day. But dealing with a lot of things at once is what makes life exciting, right?

The same is true of Jessica's paintings which seek to "reconcile the conundrums of existence" and pay testament to this internal debate. Curvilinear Time is a piece full of visual and conceptual struggles, seeking to find balance. There's tension between "the immediacy of gestural drawing and the meticulous nature of painting"—the battle between freedom and routine. Jessica writes, "the mind constantly strives to reconcile these opposing states and swings back and forth, desiring one, then desiring the other." So, even if we can't actually have more hours in the day, there's something soothing about the visual enigmas that Jessica's work encapsulates.

I could keep waxing poetic about Jessica's painting but instead I'll turn it over to Jeffrey Teuton, Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery, who writes:

What I love so much about Jessica's work is that it draws you in to this abstract world where you feel right on the cusp of substantial change and movement. It is the point right before anything could happen, and you feel as if you get to witness this perfect thing, for a split second, before it is gone—an ebb and flow of shape and color that will never be seen again. As with Amplitude, on view in the current Mixtape exhibition at the gallery, I look at the work and feel that at any moment, the weight will become too much—the image is seconds away from disappearing. The weaving of color created by overlapping areas is a perfect thing captured by Jessica, just before it advances and never returns. You look at the work feeling you are part of it but distant enough to understand you will never be able to fully grasp the fleeting moment unfolding before you.

You probably recognize Ms. Snow's work from her previous three editions and her big and beautiful painting that is currently hanging at Jen Bekman Gallery. Like Jessica's other editions, this one is printed full-bleed, meaning that the ink runs directly up to the right edge of the page. In fact, if I press my nose up against the colorful proof I can practically smell the paint.

Last but certainly not least, I have some absolutely amazing news that arrived late last night. We want to extend a huuuge congratulations to JBP artist and 20x200 edition-maker Nina Berman and Hot Shot + 20x200 artist Curtis Mann, who will have their work included in the 2010 Whitney Biennial! In fact, both artists are Hot Shots, both have editions on 20x200 and both made their NYC exhibition debuts at JBG. Jen commented this morning:

This is one of the proudest moments in JBP history. Nina and Curtis are two artists that are taking really different approaches to dealing with the Middle East and what's going on in our culture. I'm incredibly proud that we've exhibited their work and, to me, having it shown again in this context, to a whole new audience, is really going to bring it to a new place.

We'll be back on Monday with four new Festivus editions. Until then, check out our illustrated Artist Gift Guides. We've put together a few staff picks too and there's more to come! Stay warm and have a great weekend!

*If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, check the link at the the bottom of this newsletter. Among other roles we're looking for interns!

Previous Newsletter : Edition Announcement #228 - William Lamson