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The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Jillian Denby’s Voyeuristic Paintings

In Jillian Denby’s voyeuristic, yet expansive paintings, people engage in both everyday activity as well as the unexpected. When viewed as a whole, her scenes offer a connectedness between its parties that each likely couldn’t see themselves. With works like "Genius of the River Chases Away The Frenzy of Art," the reality of what’s human and what’s art itself is blurred. “Nature can be overwhelming and landscape a little removed. With that in mind and viewing it directly, I try to acknowledge its presence, while conceptualizing a fragile observational dialogue,” the artist has said.

In Jillian Denby’s voyeuristic, yet expansive paintings, people engage in both everyday activity as well as the unexpected. When viewed as a whole, her scenes offer a connectedness between its parties that each likely couldn’t see themselves. With works like “Genius of the River Chases Away The Frenzy of Art,” the reality of what’s human and what’s art itself is blurred. “Nature can be overwhelming and landscape a little removed. With that in mind and viewing it directly, I try to acknowledge its presence, while conceptualizing a fragile observational dialogue,” the artist has said.

Recent shows from the artist include a solo at Barney Savage Gallery late last year. “This Is Real and That’s Not” contained this insight from the space: “She often makes adjustments to her environment, in order to reflect spatial arrangements she may desire for her vision. Within a natural wildness she puts together multiple task related activities that appear at the same time, as part of the same image. Looking into the space, sometimes looking out, figure groups are included as they offer human scale to the landscape as well as noise, grouping and color.”

See more of her work on her site.

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