“Identity” by Tanya Jenkins (27 Nov 2007)

Review #1

Tanya Jenkins uses intense contrasts, such as precision black and white in her ink drawings, and colors vs. black and white in her paintings. Design intuition is seen through superb arrangement such as the pairing of a large hot painting on one side and a cold painting on the other side of the second room. They are very personal, reflecting beauty in struggle and allusions to the concept of destiny. “Dramatic” is an interesting drawing in that when you cover up the mouth, the forehead is in anguish, yet when you cover the eyes, the mouth is undeniably a smile.

-Mel Netherwood

Review #2

Perhaps after last week’s wide range of artwork for “Art-o-Copia”, Tanya Jenkins’s exhibition, “Identity,” serves as a fresh contrast, with ink drawings and mixed media paintings in simple color schemes lining the walls. Nude female figures wrapped in tree branches or vines dominate Jenkins’s work, which seem to be explorations into the many faces and personalities of a girl- Jenkins herself, I imagine. Whether or not they are self-portraits is irrelevant to me; it is the variety of moods, emotions, and states of minds that the works display which I find intriguing. In Shame, the woman’s face is covered with vines. Cold Indifference has her sitting crossed legged and looking away, while in Unattainable, she wears a distant expression as she lifts her head, almost as if defiance, as vines swirl around her body. Some minor drawing technique flaws may be distracting, but do not take away from the overall impression of the work. “Identity” is a beautiful and intimate look into the intricate world of the female mind.

-Susanna Tu

Review #3

Arbol de la esperanza
mantante firme.

-Frida Kahlo

Tree of life, tree of knowledge, the tree has been a potent and universal image of many things. Importantly though the tree has always been associated with the woman. The late Ana Mendieta’s Tree Goddess (1977) draws upon an ancient and universal association between women and trees in one modern example. The commonness of this association is what makes Jenkins’ work so perplexing. In Unattainable, presumably a self-portrait, she stands nude, staring away with a wistful smirk at something we can’t see. Strangely though she is being caressed by branch like forms that either are restraining or embracing her in some bizarre symbiosis. These recurring entities could be veins or alien beings in their ambiguity since they lack leaves, trunks or even distinct bark texture. But the show’s title, Identity, and the fact that we know the artist’s gender, limits speculation. Always though they are acting upon the woman, never from her. Other portraits are seen through shattered pieces of paper that float over someone’s bad dream of Brice Marden paintings. Fracture, restraint, even death and domestic violence in Dramatic are prevalent. Technical difficulties abound however. In Unattainable, the woman’s left hand appears to be a right hand. Negative spaces won’t stay put and forms appear distorted in ways that don’t betray intention. Using red ribbon to border some of the drawings was interesting but matting them with construction paper was aggravating. SEE IT

-P. Castellanos