The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Art Gallery will present Unfolding, an exhibit focused on objects and memory by Jennifer Leigh Jones, from January 22 through March 16, 2018. The public is invited to view the exhibition throughout the show’s run and attend the Gallery Reception on Friday, February 2, from 5-7 p.m., which includes a talk with the artist at 5:30 p.m.; light refreshments will be served. This reception is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. The Reed Gallery is located on the second floor of the University’s Center for Innovative Learning.
Jones’ work explores the relationship between objects and the memories they trigger. She is fascinated by the manner in which the mind processes life events, from the extreme traumas that life can sometimes yield to the soft tranquility of playing with a tea set. Each object she portrays in her work is inextricably bound to the memory of events.
Jones is an Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing and serves as the Department Chair at Navarro College in Waxahachie, TX. She received her MFA in Painting and Drawing in 2009 from the University of North Texas where she taught as an adjunct professor until 2014, when she became a full-time professor at Navarro.
In 2009, she was named “one of the Dallas Top Nine Artists at the F.I.G. to watch” in D Magazine. Her prolific work has been exhibited nationally. She has participated in over 80 art exhibitions, alongside several of today’s most renowned art figures, such as: Nato Thompson, Chief Curator at the New York-based public arts institution, Creative Time; Terri Thornton, an artist and Curator of Education at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Thomas Feulmer, Director of Education and Programming at the Rachofsky House in Dallas; Gavin Morrison, curator of the Fort Worth Contemporary Art Gallery; Janis Goodman, Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, DC; Dallas Art Fair co-founder Chris Byrne; Gail Sachson, immediate past Chair of the Dallas Cultural Affairs Commission and past Vice-Chair of the Dallas Public Art Committee, and many more.
Her recent exhibitions include a solo show at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, TX; Ex Post Facto, Warehouse Living Arts Center, Corsicana, TX; Dallas Art Fair, F.I.G, Ro2 Gallery; Texas Art Contemporary Fair, Houston, Ro2 Gallery. Jones has been named a finalist three times in the Hunting Art Prize, located in Houston.
“I have known Jenny for some time, and it is a pleasure to have her work presented here in the Reed Gallery,” Hyrum Benson, Reed Art Gallery Director, said. “Her work is thought-provoking and fresh. I am especially excited that she will be here all the way from Texas during the opening reception to give a talk about her work. I encourage all to come and view her artwork.”
All are invited to view the show between January and March and to come out to the First Friday Art Walk on February 2 and take part in the free reception and artist’s talk at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. In addition, Unfolding will be open during the First Friday Art Walk on March 2 from 5-7 p.m. Please follow gallery happenings on the Reed Gallery Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ReedArtGallery.
The Reed Fine Art Gallery is located on the second floor of UMPI’s Center for Innovative Learning and is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The gallery is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and University holidays. For more information about this event, please contact Reed Gallery Director Hyrum Benson at (207) 768-9441 or hyrum.benson@maine.edu.