Artist spotlight: Jackie Kern

I would like to introduce you to the artist Jackie Kern. Although we have been working with Kern for years and have showcased her earlier work, I feel the summer of 2019 marks the point in Jackie Kern's art career where she found her voice. The current body of work fits into the category of Abstract Expressionism.

There are two type of abstract painters: the action ones like Jackson Pollock who seem manic and attack the work with big gesture and color. Then the second type, often referred to as the color field painters such as Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. They were more interested in allegory and the response of the audience to their work.

Looking at her new body of work, I can see hints of both styles of abstract expressionism. There are some similarities to Lee Krasner and even Willem De Kooning, but Kern’s color palette is more reminiscent of the primitivism movement or indigenous works of art. This immediately attracts me to the work.  In her work Remembrance [shown above], I can see some of the frantic emotional input with her ink scribble lines and her repetitive oval shapes. With Declaration [shown below], she also utilized very bold frantic outlines surrounding her reoccurring oval shapes. In all of these works I see a deeper, implied use of shape that in my mind conjures human forms. Regardless if this is Intentional by Kern or invented by my penchant for narrative work; I react with an emotional response to her work that does not happen with most abstract expressionist work.

I feel this body of work is more contemporary than the past abstract expressionists. I can see similarities to Justine Hill’s work. Her work combines Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, and Primitivism. She uses misshapen canvases that ultimately turn her abstract works into creatures. Her bold use of lines and limited color palette remind me of Kern’s work.

This library has a very special history with contemporary art. After having several long conversations with a retired Harvard Literature professor, Benito Rakower, I introduced this new body of work to him. He had the same reaction as I did. Rakower spoke highly of the work, “I immediately understood Kern to be an intelligent painter and very skilled. She understands what she is painting and teaches us to understand her work by the mark making and decisive style of the work”. He also saw the human figure and stories enmeshed within the abstraction of the work.

Enjoy more images of the new work below:

 

Dr. Jaqueline Kern

BFA [Painting/Drawing] Purchase College State Univ. of NY

MS Education [concentration in visual arts] Univ. of North Dakota

PhD Teaching & Learning [concentration in visual arts] Univ. of North Dakota

Artist website: www.jackiekern.com

Artist Statement

The formal work that I have created throughout my professional career contained imagery of places, objects, people, and animals heightened by bright colors, expressive lines, and vibrant patterns. As I approach this next phase of work, the places, objects, people, and animals have disappeared to reveal my focus on colors, lines, and forms. My emphasis on the nonobjective (devoid of people, places, and things) seeks to explore and express the dimensions of feelings without the trappings of recognizable imagery. Unburdened with having to recreate recognizable imagery from life, I feel most free. In this freedom, the compositions unfold on the canvas and paper in fresh, lively, and authentic statements—raw, honest, open, unfussed with, primitive, and sophisticated.