> DESCRIPTION
The group of oil paintings in “Falling Together / Holding Apart” hang almost as if tapestries from some land just beyond the sea of consciousness. They are inspired by the patterns and palettes of rugs from Persia or the Caucasus, but never long enough for a single source to take prominence over the painting. The visual sources are by no means limited to textiles, as Persian miniatures, wheel pottery and Klimtian figures also contribute to their vocabulary.
The paintings, like the decorative arts that inform them, weave a personal narrative into their familiar forms. Self-portraits, Bruce Lee references and the artist’s own garden create and are created by the
patterns which make up these tapestry-paintings. Borders are erected and erode within the paintings, lending at times an isolation and at times a freedom to the subjects and composition of the work. In “Tour de Lance,” the famous cyclist takes the coveted central focus while miniature bicycles fall into a traditional Persian border with surprising grace and more than a little hero-worship. Rochlin’s paintings explore these borders and boundaries: between media, between histories, between the human and natural worlds, and between two sides of one’s self.
Jennifer Rochlin was born in Baltimore and received her MFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
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