Jenna Gribbon (born 1978) is an American artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her figurative paintings whose primary subject is her partner, Mackenzie Scott.[1] Gribbon frequently depicts Scott in candid, everyday scenes or overtly theatrical setups.[2]
Jenna Gribbon | |
---|---|
Born | 1978 (age 45–46) |
Alma mater | University of Georgia, Hunter College |
Known for | Painting |
Spouse | Torres |
Her work has been exhibited at the Frick Collection, Collezione Maramotti,[3] Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth,[4] the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, and appeared in Sofia Coppola's 2006 film, Marie Antoinette.
Early life and education
editJenna Gribbon was born Jenna Brown in 1978 in Knoxville, Tennessee.[5][6] Her parents divorced when she was two, and at the age of five, she moved to an area outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her mother and brother.[6] Gribbon took an interest in art at an early age, and studied drawing and painting at the University of Georgia, graduating in 2001.[7][8][9] While at the University of Georgia, she also experimented with film making.[6]
Career
editIn 2003, Gribbon moved to New York City to pursue a career in art, where she briefly worked as a cocktail waitress and a color technician for artist Jeff Koons.[6][7] In 2006, she was commissioned to create three portraits for the set of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette.[10][8]
In 2010, Gribbon and writer Julian Tepper founded the Oracle Club, a literary salon and artist workspace in Long Island City, Queens.[11][12][13] While running the salon, Gribbon continued painting portraits of her friends and family and exhibiting work. When the Oracle Club closed in 2016 due to rising rent, she began studying at Hunter College, graduating in 2019 with her Master of Fine Arts.[6][9] In 2018, she was commissioned to create a portrait of Elsie Fisher for the film poster of Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade.[14]
After graduating, Gribbon's work largely focused on the exploration of queer identity and sensuality, and she has received positive reviews for her intimate depictions of women and gender in various solo shows.[15][16][17] She has cited artists like Édouard Manet, Jacques Rivette, Mary Cassatt, Karen Kilmnik, and Jean-Honoré Fragonard as inspirations for her work.[1][18]
Gribbon directed the music video for Torres' "Too Big for the Glory Hole" in 2020.[6] In 2021, her paintings appeared in a two-person show at Sim Smith Gallery, alongside the films of Agnes Varda, who Gribbon has cited as an inspiration for her work.[19][1][20]
Her work has also appeared in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.[21][22][23] In 2023, Gribbon's work appeared in juxtaposition to Hans Holbein the Younger's portraits of Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell at the Frick Collection.[24][5][6]
In her introduction for the 2023-24 exhibition titled "Jenna Gribbon: The Honeymoon Show," at the Lévy Gorvy Dayan Gallery,[16] curator Alison M. Gingeras wrote:
Her paintings demonstrate how a muse can also be a full-fledged subject, as opposed to a one-dimensional object of desire, and that looking as well as depicting can be an ethical, equitable exchange, and that desire or love can be conjured reciprocally without recourse to objectification, an ethos similarly articulated in [Celia] Paul's Self-Portrait.[2]
Personal life
editAs a senior at the University of Georgia, Gribbon married Matthew Gribbon, another artist, though they divorced shortly after.[6] In 2010, she and her then-partner Julian Tepper had a son, Silas.[7] Silas is a frequent subject of Gribbon's paintings, and she has frequently spoken on the impact of motherhood on her work and the sexism she has faced as a mother.[14][6]
In 2017, Gribbon met musical artist Mackenzie Scott while at a bar in the East Village, and they married in 2022.[6][16][25] Scott is the primary subject of Gribbon's portraits in "Personal Life."[19] In addition to directing one of Scott's music videos, Gribbon painted the cover art for Scott's album Silver Tongue.[26][27]
References
edit- ^ a b c Villa, Angelica (2022-11-14). "Jenna Gribbon, Painter of Intimate Portraits, Joins David Kordansky". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b Gigeras, Alison M. ""The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants: The Artist and Her Subject,"" (PDF).
There are two primary modes of representation in Gribbon's figurative work: candid genre scenes featuring a seemingly unposed Scott, with occasional cameo appearances by Gribbon's young son Silas, or obviously theatrical setups in which Scott is deliberately performing or artificially posed.
- ^ "Jenna Gribbon | Mirages>". CollezioneMaramotti. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ "Women Painting Women | Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth". www.themodern.org. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ a b "Living Histories: Jenna Gribbon". The Frick Collection. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kazanjian, Dodie (2022-11-15). "Jenna Gribbon's Pursuit of Pleasure in Queer Portraiture". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b c Dafoe, Taylor (2020-08-31). "'I Love Trying to Make the Viewer Self-Conscious': How Rising Star Jenna Gribbon Paints the Feelings of Seeing and Being Seen". Artnet News. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b "Recent Successes of Alum Jenna Gribbon". Lamar Dodd School of Art. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b "Artists: Jenna Gribbon". Lévy Gorvy Dayan. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Hume, Jody (2020-03-08). "Women of Substance: The Work and Style of Three Originals". The RealReal. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Clancy, Nora (2012-07-03). "The Oracle Cubs". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Aguirre, Abby (2012-01-20). "Just Opened | The Oracle Club". T Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Goodman, Wendy (2012-01-31). "Space of the Week: The Hottest Club in Town (If You're an Artist of Bookworm)". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b c Smallwood, Christine (2019-08-21). "How to Paint a Movie: 'Eighth Grade'". A24 Films. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "Editors' Picks: 8 Things Not to Miss in New York's Art World This Week". Artnet News. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b c King-Clements, Eloise (2023-11-17). "Painter Jenna Gribbon Is Still in Her Honeymoon Phase". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Urist, Jacoba (November 17, 2023). "With a New Honeymoon-Inspired Show, Artist Jenna Gribbon Charts the Topography of a Sapphic Life". www.culturedmag.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Neuman, Barry N. (January 2018). "A Dialogue With Painter Jenna Gribbon". Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ a b Herriman, Kat (February 16, 2022). "Jenna Gribbon and Her Musician Muse Mackenzie Scott Blend Love and Paint". Cultured Mag. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Heath, Shaquille. "Jenna Gribbon: The Pleasure of Looking". Juxtapoz Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "On View: Dreaming of Home". Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ Solomon, Tessa (2022-05-20). "'I'll Never Be the Only Woman Again': Two Art World Stars Discuss a Texas Show of Women Painting Women". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Borusky, Jessica (2021-03-03). "Romancing the Mirror: An Exhibition with a View". Arbus Magazine. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Vitullo-Martin, Julia (2022-03-24). "At the Frick Madison, a Daring New Program Juxtaposes Old Masters and Queer Art". Untapped New York. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "Mutual Musedom with Jenna Gribbon & Torres". BUDS DIGEST. January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Alderson, Glenn (2020-01-23). "TORRES Journeys Into New Territories With Silver Tongue". BeatRoute. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ Madden, Emma (2021-07-30). "How TORRES and Jenna Gribbon Became Each Other's Muses". Them. Retrieved 2024-01-03.