Ruth Bachofner Gallery

Ruth Bachofner Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Jennifer Faist.There will be a reception for the artist Saturday, April 23, 5-7 PM.

Jennifer Faist engages in a rigorous material process where color sets an emotional timbre and pattern anchors the conceptual and compositional core of the work. Faist begins her process on stacked plywood boards which are sanded, gessoed and then painted on with thick layers of paint.The patterns created in the first layer are then covered with thin applications of additional alkyd, oiland colored glazes which are sanded down to partially reveal portions of the subsequent layers. A clear epoxy resin serves as the final layer.

Faist’s perfectly smooth, reflective surfaces draw viewers into their vibrant, immeasurable depths.The meticulously crafted work recalls the Finish Fetish work of the 60's, but Faist curbs pure materiality and infuses her work with personal resonance. Within layers of paint, Faist appropriates patterns from her own clothing which she associates with specific memories. The artist physicallylocks visual associations into the work under resin, creating relics of her past, while reflecting viewers’ own patterns and associations back into the work.

“While stylistic stereotypes fall short of describing the nuances in my work,” Faist states, “I do tendto satisfy my urge to feminize the Minimalists I admire by sweetening the Cool School’s cleanaesthetic of finish and craftsmanship with the feminine touch of adornment...Rather than thedispassionate, ‘What you see is what you get’ maxim, my work embodies more the feminine habit ofalluding to sentiment and memories.