BFA Culminating Exhibitions

Natalie Jenkins

Mentors:

• Professor J. Pouwel
• Professor Trevor Lalaguna

"Home embodies many nuances, such as being an emotional response to how a person or
environment makes them feel or being an actual building where one resides. Having moved so
often throughout the years, sentimental feelings that are often connected to a home were absent.
Growing up, painting was an escape from these inconsistencies of my everyday life and now is
used as a method of recollection. This body of work explores the differences between internal
and external spaces of what a home can be.

Process is an important aspect when creating each piece. Through the action of pouring,
I consider principles of modernism such as allowing paint to be marks on a two dimensional
surface, rather than create the illusion of depth. The fragmentation of space and monochromatic
color palette create a sense of instability that distorts conventional representations of home which
alludes to perceived nostalgia of times that are lost.

I am influenced by American Abstract Expressionists Helen Frankenthaler and Robert
Motherwell. Using Frankenthaler’s staining techniques creates contrast between the organic
setting and the rigid planes in each work. Like Motherwell's work, I am drawn to Christopher
Brown’s handling of scale and placement."