Jhenna Quinn Lewis
Birds in Art
Jhenna Quinn Lewis
Birds in Art
December 15 - 21, 2017
Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505.983.1434 800.779.7387 www.MeyerGalleries.com
On the cover:
The Music Box oil 12x9
"I seemed to be born with a love and appreciation for art and nature, or maybe a better word to describe this is awe. Art is a universal language that can teach us about ourselves and our world. It is a part of all our lives and surrounds us even if we don't notice or understand it. I have always had the need to create through images on canvas. The need is to foster an understanding of nature that is reflective, which suggests the presence of some unacknowledged mystery. A painting is a moment held in time: artists strive to capture something in that moment and give it eternity. For me, paintings have a meditative quality. Through the manipulation of composition, subject matter, color, light, and shading, I try to bring out a subtle inherent quietness that the viewer can be drawn into. My hope is to create a state of mind. I have always lived in two separate worlds that unite the real and the imagined.� Jhenna Quinn-Lewis began studying art in 1976 at the university of Illinois. She went on to later become the art director-manager at the Ferndale Art Cooperative in Ferndale, California. She was also the owner/director of the Candy Stick Gallery in Ferndale. To further her own artistic endeavors, she studied with David A. Leffel, one of the country’s most respected and well know artists in 1999. Her work has been featured in many publications such as Southwest Art Magazine and US Art Magazine. Her paintings are also included in the corporate collections of Harry and David as well as a commissioned painting in the private collection of Lawton Chiles, the former Governor of California.
Opposite page:
The Tenet oil 8x6
When Winter Comes oil 8x6
Snowfall oil 8x6
“I got my interest in birds from my father,” says the artist, who grew up on a forest preserve in the suburbs of Chicago. “Where we lived there were little Robin’s nests and he would point them out to us. My brother and I would sit under the trees and listen to the baby birds.”
Opposite page:
The Memory oil 14x11
Back from the Library oil 14x11
While Quinn Lewis’ paintings may seem to illustrate fictitious fables or “pieces of a poem,” which aptly titles one of her latest works, the birds that occupy them are anything but imaginary.
Opposite page:
Pieces of a Poem oil 12x6
I Found Your Other Earring oil 20x14.25
I Found Your Earring oil 20x14.25
Opposite page:
The Withered Bough oil 10x8
A Returning Guest oil 8x6
In Anticipation oil 8x6
A Silent Forest
View oil 6x12
It’s All About the Look oil 8x6
The Finch and the Pearl oil 12x9
In Jhenna Quinn Lewis’ elegant and austere paintings, curious little birds often explore romantic environments away from their natural habitat, perching on music boxes or worn books as if they have just fluttered into a forgotten corner or a quietly arranged still life. As the birds linger in these softly lit spaces among ornamented objects, they bring a romanticized, fairy tale feel to the Oregon artist’s minimalist compositions.
Opposite page:
The Forgotten Treasure oil 14x11
The Messenger oil 12x9
Even as Lewis introduces new backdrops for her feathered subjects, her devotion torestraint and a “less is moreâ€? mentality remains consistent across her work. Simply arranged props, use of negative space and quiet minimalism characterize her paintings. This aspect of her work is influenced by Asian art, particularly Japanese masters Utagawa Hiroshige, Uta Maro and Hasegawa TĹ?haku.
Opposite page:
Garden Stones oil 12x9
Sujin Woods and Plum oil 16x8
Owl Portrait oil 4x4
When it comes to simplicity, Lewis’ artistic aspirations are best expressed in this quote by English naturalist and ornithologist Gilbert White: “The language of birds is very ancient, and, like other ancient modes of speech, very elliptical: little is said, but much is meant and understood.”
Approaching Storm of Autumn oil 6x8
Jhenna Quinn Lewis
The Music Box The Tenet When Winter Comes Snowfall The Memory Back from the Library Pieces of a Poem I Found Your Other Earring I Found Your Earring The Withered Bough A Returning Guest In Anticipation A Silent Forest View It’s All About the Look The Finch and the Pearl The Forgotten Treasure The Messenger Garden Stones Sujin Woods and Plum Owl Portrait Approaching Storm of Autumn Lingering
Birds in Art 12x9 8x6 8x6 8x6 14x11 14x11 12x6 20x14.25 20x14.25 10x8 8x6 8x6 6x12 8x6 12x9 14x11 12x9 12x9 16x8 4x4 6x8 8x6
$2,700 $1,600 $1,600 $1,600 $3,800 $3,500 $1,700 $3,800 $3,800 $2,200 $1,600 $1,600 $2,000 $1,600 $2,700 $3,800 $2,700 $2,700 $3,000 $900 $2,000 $1,600
Lingering oil 8x6
Jhenna Quinn Lewis
Birds in Art
Opening Reception Friday December 15, 2017 5 to 7pm
Meyer Gallery
225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505.983.1434 800.779.7387 www.MeyerGalleries.com