Rivergarden Gallery

Jen Keshka

My artwork questions cuteness, beauty, desirability and provocativeness. When is too much too much? When is too much not enough? When is not enough just right? As these are questions I am completely obsessed with, I have developed a motto of “so wrong it’s right,” which I especially enjoy applying to my art. I take great pleasure in toying with boundaries of “appropriateness” and “acceptability” by pairing humor and absurdity with complex issues. My work presents compelling tension and playfulness between scale, materials, and childhood, sexualized and violent iconography yielding a new visual landscape confronting sugary-coated concepts of innocence and lack thereof.

Bio

I am an interdisciplinary artist currently most invested in drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture. In 2007 I received my BFA in Fine Art from The College of New Jersey. During undergraduate study I took part in Semester at Sea thereby traveling to Bahamas, Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Burma, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, and San Diego.

My work has been exhibited at The College of New Jersey Gallery, Vibe Café in Ewing, Momenta Art in Brooklyn, and as part of the annual Visual AIDS Postcards from the Edge Benefit at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. (2007), James Cohen (2008), and Metro Pictures (2009).

In December 2006 I was awarded the Thomas George Artists Fund Grant from the Princeton Area Community Foundation for excellence and potential in drawing and painting. In 2007 I received an Art Faculty Merit Award from The College of New Jersey, and was nominated for the International Sculpture Center’s 2007 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. In 2008 I was chosen for online representation by UGallery.com, a launch pad for emerging artists. I currently work as an Artist Assistant for a NY based video and installation artist, and am in the process of applying to graduate schools where I will pursue an MFA in Studio Art.

©Jen Keshka