Hummingbirds in ethereal settings have long been a signature of artist Jenna Von Benedikt’s work and she returns to the subject for Sublime Wonders, an upcoming solo exhibition at Gallery Wild in Jackson, Wyoming.
“There’s a lovely process of capturing details of light, joy and beauty in a beautiful, acrobatic little bird,” she says. “Lately, I’m delighting in the playful nature of the ‘charm’ (a group of hummingbirds). I’m loving the interactive energy on a panel and the cheerful feeling they bring, and my work is ultimately about bringing that to a viewer—initially and always in their home.
Dreamer, oil, 30 x 60 in.
“The show name Sublime Wonders is a reflection of the joyful interaction nature has among itself through movement, color and transcendence,” Von Benedikt continues. “I believe we are to experience joy more often and more fully, and the wonders in creation help us to appreciate that and achieve it.”
Those wonders also include big game like the antler-laden elk in Dreamer,also placed in abstracted, nonspecific surroundings meant to suggest the mystical realm, while the realistically rendered subject represents the awe-inspiring nature of the physical world.
Sublime Wonders, oil, 48 x 36 in.
“I believe that opposites help us learn, appreciate and grow,” says Von Benedikt about her attraction to the most delicate of birds as well as their more beastly counterparts. “I’ve watched elk on the sides of mountains, and recently a moose in my backyard…every time bigger game stops me in my tracks with fascination for their grounding and strength. But so do delicate creatures on a journey, like hummingbirds and butterflies. They feel like familiar, beautiful souls when they come close and interact with us. Many people tell me how my work reminds them of close relatives that have passed on through the veil, and it helps them have a ‘moment’.”
Sublime Wonders opens with a reception on June 20 from 5 to 8 p.m. and remains on view through June 29. —
Gallery Wild 80 W. Broadway, Jackson, WY 83001, (307) 203-2322, www.gallerywild.com
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