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.
