Hyatt Hotel selects art for fitness centers

Hyatt Hotels has contracted to feature, on an exclusive basis, Giclee prints of selected paintings by Jennifer J.L. Jones, starting with Cassia I, Cassia III, Origin, and Little Ketsu. The prints will be used in Hyatt’s fitness rooms through-out the United States as part of their Hyatt Stay-Fit Program. The agreement was recently concluded between Hyatt and Jennifer through the Soho Myraid Gallery in Atlanta. Hyatt has been a regular collector of Jennifer’s work over the years, and has acquired major pieces for eight of their US properties.

San Francisco gallery displays work

The Andrea Schwartz Gallery in San Francisco will soon be offering several of Jennifer’s new paintings to their clients. The Andrea Schwartz Gallery supports work that is challenging and at the forefront of contemporary practice and represents a select group of emerging and established artists. The Gallery is located in the South of Market area in San Francisco at 25 2nd Street across from South Park.
(415) 495-2090 www.asgallery.com

Continuing support of The Womens Center of Jacksonville

Jennifer is donating Papyrus from the Balance Series to support The Womens Center of Jacksonville 11th Annual Silent Auction and Raffle. Last year the Center expanded their non-profit programs to include girls, and succeeded in reaching out to more than 5,000 women and their families, focusing on counseling, rape recovery, health education, and literacy.

This year’s event will be held on August 25 at Jacoby Symphony Hall, Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. The Patron’s Party starts at 6 PM, followed by the Silent Auction at 7 PM. Featured performer this year is Susan Klein, an award winning spoken-word artist and author.

For more information about the Center, and to learn about sponsorship opportunities, call the Center at (904) 722-3000, Ext. 203. For Reservation information, call (904) 722-3000, Ext. 228. Visit their website at www.womenscenterofjax.org

FOCUS/Santa Fe interview

From FOCUS/Santa Fe, June/July 2006 Issue,
By Jo Ann Baldinger
May 2006

Jennifer J. L. Jones paintings are featured in a solo exhibition at Hunter-Kirkland Contemporary Gallery, May 26 - June 18.

ennifer J. L. Jones’s paintings dance a fine line between the abstract and the recognizable. Tiny white birds seem to tumble out of a fiery sunset, stars explode against a dark sky, a forest lake emerges out of the mist and then, as we gaze, disappears back into it.

These mixed media works, all done on wood panel, and ranging in size from 10 inches square to greater than 6 by 8 feet, enchant the viewer with their shape-shifting qualities. Jones accomplishes the unusual feat of presenting a subtle, feminine sensibility with passion, energy, and imagination.

"Making art is the only thing in my life that I never questioned," the artist said in a recent phone interview from her home in Atlanta. "I always felt, ‘I can do this.’ "

At the young age of 34, Jones has accumulated some impressive credentials, including annual exhibitions in galleries from Los Angeles to Santa Fe to Chicago, and from Martha’s Vineyard to Lisbon, Portugal. Her work is owned by numerous international corporations, while the list of her private collectors includes Oprah Winfrey.

In any particular painting, Jones may use oils, acrylics, glue, charcoal, wax, metal, and textured paper to build a multilayered surface that reveals its secrets over time. "Often collectors are attracted first to the colors," she observed. "Later - sometimes even after a year living with the painting on their wall - they’ll write to me and say, ‘I just noticed something I’d never seen before!’ "

Jones switched from canvas to wood panels about six years ago, initially because traditional canvas was not strong enough to support all the media she was using. "Then I started getting influenced by the wood itself, the feel of it, the way the paintbrush moves over it, the way I can glue textures onto it. I also started leaving part of the wood grain revealed. Now," she said, "the wood sometimes dictates the entire painting."

Jones credits her rural upbringing in Virginia and Florida with her reliance on the natural world as an inspiration for her art. "Nature and light are important to me. One thing I like about Atlanta is that there are so many parks and trees, and we have gorgeous sunsets here as well."

After earning her BFA from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994, Jones recalled, "I was so burned out that it took me about two years to really start developing my own style, my own way of painting." She will not disclose the specifics of her techniques, but describes her process as intuitive rather than pre-planned. "I may bring an idea or a feeling into the studio. Then, as I’m working, the images start revealing themselves through the paint."

Last year Jones was one of four artists featured in a UCLA-sponsored exhibition and lecture series titled Healing and Transformation through Art, which explored the ways the creative arts can unleash personal insight and enhance health. This honor points to another essential source of Jones’s art: her ongoing meditation practice. "Spirituality is about energy," she explained. "The energy you put into a painting is what viewers will pick up and respond to."

Jennifer’s work can be seen at Hunter-Kirkland Contemporary, 200-B Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501. (505) 984-2111
www.hunterkirklandcontemporary.com

Creating exclusive piece for Art with a Heart Fundraiser

An Evening for Art with a Heart for Children takes place Thursday, October 19 from 7 to 10 PM at Stellers Gallery in Ponte Vedra Beach. The catered affair will feature a silent auction of the children’s masterpieces along with artwork by professional artists, including a donated painting by Jennifer J. L. Jones- created exclusively for this first annual fundraising event. Ticket prices are $65 and can be purchased online at www.artwithaheart.info and at Stellers Gallery, 240 A1A North, Ponte Vedra Beach. For more information contact: Kerrie Slattery, Executive Director; (904) 543-0910.

Art with a Heart for Children was founded in 2001 as a way to provide assistance to ill children. This unique Arts-in-Healing program has grown to serve more than 7,500 children five days a week at both Wolfson Children’s Hospital and the Nemours Children’s Clinic.

New print now available

Soho Myriad has announced the availability of another Open Edition Print, this one from Jennifer’sBetween Things: Summer Series. Sunstream (originally a 60X60 diptych), will be printed as a single image in the following sizes: 11X11 ($125), 16X16 ($200), 22X22 ($300), and 30X30 for $400.

A compelling image, The Lei Garden Beijing recently purchased two of the prints for their restaurant in Hong Kong, in addition to three other Open Edition images. Click here to view available print releases.