Jenna Von Benedikt’s paintings are an intriguing combination of realism and abstraction, the physical and the ethereal. Drawing on one of the meanings of her name, “little bird,” she often chooses the littlest birds as the subjects of her paintings. Delicately painted hummingbirds flutter above painterly abstract fields of dark and light.
Holding on to Memories, oil, 48 x 36 in.
“I work flat, without an easel,” she explains. “I really enjoy putting down the colors and sometimes I see what I wasn’t expecting. There’s a lot of rhythmical movement when I paint the abstract areas—I’m physically moving. But I’m more deliberate and specific [when] painting the birds.
“We experience both light and darkness in our lives, and I use that as a big theme in the backgrounds of the paintings. Sometimes we feel more dark than light. There is a transition space between the abstract area and the hummingbirds, a threshold. Then the birds go on an intentional journey toward the light.”
Roundtable Discussions, oil, 50 x 40 in.
In the abstract lower portion of Holding on to Memories, the layers of paint and pentimenti suggest darker as as well as clearer memories. “There’s always a physical and a spiritual side of things for me,” she says. “In my paintings I bring things from the darkness into the light. I think that that’s being enlightened—moving from the daily humdrum to a place of happiness and joy.”
Von Benedikt was born in England where she grew up riding horses. When she and her family moved to the United States, her horse came with her. She received her BFA degree from Brigham Young University in 2006, and now lives with her husband and four children in Preston, Idaho.
Jesters Abroad, oil, 12 x 36 in.
Her love for the outdoors has, as she says, both a physical and a spiritual side. “I think it’s interesting that birds are often symbols for messengers, bridging the gap between heaven and earth, or different spheres of thought,” she says. “I like the idea of asking myself, ‘What kind of positive messages am I giving the world?’ Painting brings me a lot of joy. I’m excited to do this every day and to bring joy to others.”
Moments & Memories, an exhibition of her most recent work, will be shown at Gallery Wild in Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 20 through January 3, 2025. —
Gallery Wild 203 Canyon Road » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 467-8297 » www.gallerywild.com
Powered by Froala Editor
