Hi there. Here to share some of the things I've been thinking about lately, mostly about looking both inwards and outwards. I had the chance to spend some time at the Jennifer Packer exhibit at the Whitney, and I'm so glad I did. The doors of the elevator opened onto "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!)," a painting that literally stopped me in my tracks. It's washed in a chartreuse that glows and its size dwarfs the viewer, filling an entire wall. Packer based it on the photographs of Breonna Taylor's home that she saw in the media and felt connected to, but there is a hazy looseness to the image that adds to its feeling of intimacy. Like many of the paintings in this show, it felt like looking into a room made individual by the person in it, both by their presence and the small details they've imbued it with; in "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!)" it is the art on the walls and the plant that thrusts upwards, cared for and thriving. About her work and the Black people she paints, Packer has said "My inclination to paint, especially from life, is a completely political one. We belong here. We deserve to be seen and acknowledged in real time. We deserve to be heard and to be imaged with shameless generosity and accuracy."
Lately #6: Looking In / Out / At
Lately #6: Looking In / Out / At
Lately #6: Looking In / Out / At
Hi there. Here to share some of the things I've been thinking about lately, mostly about looking both inwards and outwards. I had the chance to spend some time at the Jennifer Packer exhibit at the Whitney, and I'm so glad I did. The doors of the elevator opened onto "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!)," a painting that literally stopped me in my tracks. It's washed in a chartreuse that glows and its size dwarfs the viewer, filling an entire wall. Packer based it on the photographs of Breonna Taylor's home that she saw in the media and felt connected to, but there is a hazy looseness to the image that adds to its feeling of intimacy. Like many of the paintings in this show, it felt like looking into a room made individual by the person in it, both by their presence and the small details they've imbued it with; in "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!)" it is the art on the walls and the plant that thrusts upwards, cared for and thriving. About her work and the Black people she paints, Packer has said "My inclination to paint, especially from life, is a completely political one. We belong here. We deserve to be seen and acknowledged in real time. We deserve to be heard and to be imaged with shameless generosity and accuracy."