Hours
An exhibition by Elizabeth Jaeger at Jack Hanley Gallery, on view from January 6th - February 10th, 2019.
This exhibition is a departure from Jaeger’s usual medium of choice, sculpture. In fact, it’s almost the complete opposite of sculpture, each painting on light-weight silk fabric with a translucent application. The paintings are literally floating with the breeze coming through the door as I walk in. Light as air.
“I used to paint a lot in high school and some in college, and I wanted to do something that felt less caustic, both on my own body and on the spaces I was inhibiting,” - Elizabeth Jaeger for Art News
The exhibition consists entirely of portraits, which is not out of the ordinary for an artist, however, all of these are of subjects lying down.
“A sense of naturalism is perhaps the defining feature of these works. Everyone looks comfortable within their own perimeters of what it means to be comfortable. Some look peaceful, some playful, others worried; Jaeger told me that one subject had a hand down their pants for the entire duration of the session. Many fell asleep.” - Art News
Not only was Jaeger’s movement into painting more liberating from a mobility standpoint, but her choice of painting on silk fabric instead of heavy stretched canvas gave her even more freedom to travel, and create the works wherever the subjects resided. This included San Francisco, Paris...all the way to the Greek Islands.
Elizabeth is no stranger to the human form, having been a former model. In 2014 she pivoted to full-time artist and sculpture when she got the attention of Jack Hanley Gallery (who represents her).
However, in true millennial form, just being an artist isn’t enough. She’s also a co-founder of Peradam, a publisher of small-run artist books.
Some great press coverage of the exhibition includes articles on ArtNews as well as Blouin Artinfo.
