The “Pentimenti” series is so named as it began by the act of painting over existing canvases where the circular geometry was a part of the older works. Pentimenti, by definition means, “a visible trace of an earlier painting beneath a layer or layers of paint on a canvas.” In essence these paintings are picking up from an earlier series, but with a renewed interest in surface and scale and that includes a fuller color palette. Previous works were much more reductive and the use of color was intentionally restricted. There still exists a hint of the grid in the intersection of the circles on the canvas plane when the circles are cropped off.
The launch into the “Pentimenti” series began right after a trip to Greece. At night, there’s little ambient light (or light pollution), so that it is clear enough to see a plethora of constellations and planets. The sky becomes an amazingly wide canvas. Connection to the elements has a new primacy for me, and a simplicity that subconsciously became part of the new visual language in this body of work.
Jean Wolff has had group and solo exhibits in various galleries in New York City and internationally. In addition, she has published 153 works in 104 issues of 61 magazines. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she studied fine arts at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit and at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, receiving a BFA in studio arts. She then attended Hunter College, CUNY in New York, graduating with an MFA in painting and printmaking. She is now part of the artistic community of Westbeth in Manhattan. For complete exhibition list and bibliography please visit artist website at www.jeanwolff.com.
