Jennifer Whitten, an American artist, immigrated to Melbourne, Australia, in 2009. At the start of her career, her fastidious manner of working seemed well suited for medical illustration, but Jennifer left medical studies behind in pursuit of her own artistic investigations.
For years, her photorealistic paintings have aestheticised time and absence; and most recently, after an encounter in Italy with a collection of 18th century reverse-glass paintings, she determined that glass would serve as an ideal conduit of these themes. Oil, reverse-glass and representational painting have lengthy histories, but Jennifer’s edgy repurposing of these methods upends any hint of the conventional. Incorporating everything from steel, to video, to live music, her complex installations defy the traditional 2D confines set for painting, but preserve its seduction and sincerity.
In 2015, Jennifer completed her Masters in Contemporary Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, after having completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Washington University in St. Louis (USA). She was the recipient of the Athenaeum Club Visual Arts Research Award, VCA’s most prestigious honour. Jennifer teaches Foundation Painting at The Art Room in Yarraville and offers tuition to small groups of students in her Convent studio, please register your interest via email.
