Barbara Bingley, “New to Sacramento, Artist Jennifer Lugris Talks about Her Work and the Local Artistic Community,” ABC10, November 1, 2018
Jessica Westin, “‘Offering a Possibility’ Opens at Maturango”
The Siskiyou Daily News, January 12, 2019
Artist Jennifer Lugris poses with her mixed media work “Marriage” at her art opening at the Maturango Museum Friday night. The work is a portrait of Lugris’ husband and features a reflector and painted wood as part of the design. The work is an example of her sense of humor as an artist. She said part of the idea behind it was to “make the rest of the painting so wild that you don’t notice the reflector.”
The show is called “Offering a Possibility.” Lugris’ work includes mixed media and acrylic paintings which reflect her experience as a first-generation American with roots from North Korea, South Korea, Argentina, Spain and Uruguay. She recently completed a Master of Fine Arts at UC Santa Barbara and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rutgers.
Artist Jennifer Lugris poses with her mixed media work “Marriage” at her art opening at the Maturango Museum Friday night. The work is a portrait of Lugris’ husband and features a reflector and painted wood as part of the design. The work is an example of her sense of humor as an artist. She said part of the idea behind it was to “make the rest of the painting so wild that you don’t notice the reflector.”
The show is called “Offering a Possibility.” Lugris’ work includes mixed media and acrylic paintings which reflect her experience as a first-generation American with roots from North Korea, South Korea, Argentina, Spain and Uruguay. She recently completed a Master of Fine Arts at UC Santa Barbara and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rutgers.
Victoria Dalkey, “Art Review: ‘Her Way’ Features Women Artists Pushing their Art in New Directions”
The Sacramento Bee, November 28, 2018
Lugris gives us multi-panel paintings that fracture images into large, medium, and small canvases that are hung so that they seem like fragments of a single image blown apart. “La Reina,” a self-portrait, and “El Rey,” a portrait of her husband, have a pop art sensibility and are separated, flattened and textured so they set up a push-pull approach to color similar to that propounded by Hans Hoffman, compositions that remind one of works by Romaare Bearden and R. B. Kitaj, and narrative elements that while abstracted remind one of Frida Kahlo’s symbolic self portraits. Lugris describes her self portrait as “an ill-fitting puzzle that makes up who she is.”
Lugris gives us multi-panel paintings that fracture images into large, medium, and small canvases that are hung so that they seem like fragments of a single image blown apart. “La Reina,” a self-portrait, and “El Rey,” a portrait of her husband, have a pop art sensibility and are separated, flattened and textured so they set up a push-pull approach to color similar to that propounded by Hans Hoffman, compositions that remind one of works by Romaare Bearden and R. B. Kitaj, and narrative elements that while abstracted remind one of Frida Kahlo’s symbolic self portraits. Lugris describes her self portrait as “an ill-fitting puzzle that makes up who she is.”
Claudia Rivas, “Her Way at Jay Jay Gallery: An All-Female Multi-Generational Painting and Print-Making Exhibition”
Submerge, November 8, 2018
During this moment when female empowerment and confidence is critical, Jay Jay Gallery (5524 B Elvas Ave.) hosts Her Way, an all-female, multi-generational painting and printmaking exhibition from artists Ellen Van Fleet, Katherine Warinner, Jennifer Lugris and Kerry Cottle. The show aims to celebrate the artistic contributions featuring some of Northern California’s female artist population who have enhanced, influenced and informed our budding visual culture. For this experience, the four artists who have been selected are each pushing their chosen medium in new directions. Ellen Van Fleet uses torn paper to create unusual and mysterious works that portray thought-provoking and strange adventures for the curious eye. In contrast, Katherine Warriner produces art with forms and textures inspired by Mother Nature. Major themes within her work involve growth, balance and movement. Jennifer Lugris’ multi-paneled paintings are not only fiercely severed, but her pieces give the viewer a new perspective on how they view themselves and their atmosphere. Lastly, Kerry Cottle creates complex and intricate mosaics that portray the importance of liberation within ourselves.
During this moment when female empowerment and confidence is critical, Jay Jay Gallery (5524 B Elvas Ave.) hosts Her Way, an all-female, multi-generational painting and printmaking exhibition from artists Ellen Van Fleet, Katherine Warinner, Jennifer Lugris and Kerry Cottle. The show aims to celebrate the artistic contributions featuring some of Northern California’s female artist population who have enhanced, influenced and informed our budding visual culture. For this experience, the four artists who have been selected are each pushing their chosen medium in new directions. Ellen Van Fleet uses torn paper to create unusual and mysterious works that portray thought-provoking and strange adventures for the curious eye. In contrast, Katherine Warriner produces art with forms and textures inspired by Mother Nature. Major themes within her work involve growth, balance and movement. Jennifer Lugris’ multi-paneled paintings are not only fiercely severed, but her pieces give the viewer a new perspective on how they view themselves and their atmosphere. Lastly, Kerry Cottle creates complex and intricate mosaics that portray the importance of liberation within ourselves.
“Awakened in Art: Dream and Art Tell Difficult Political Truths”
Pacific Sun, October 31, 2018
Like surrealism, the political-art movement opposing totalitarianism in the aftermath of the horrors of WWI, the power of art and dreaming in these turbulent times holds the possibility for social change.
Last week, less than a month before the 2018 midterm elections, a cadre of Northern California artists shared their art and held a dialogue to raise awareness about U.S. domestic and foreign policies in the month-long mixed-media exhibition “Wake-Up! The Political Power of Art and Dreams,” held at the Claudia Chapline Gallery in Stinson Beach on Oct. 28, that now continues online…
In “They Never Stood a Chance,” a seven-foot-tall installation inspired by a dream, artist Jennifer Lugris envisions a metaphor for the North Korean government’s treatment of its people.
“When I was a child, I watched my parents stack receipts on a paper spike at their dry cleaning business,” remembers Lugris, a first-generation American. “In mid-2017, I started having a recurring dream about life-sized paper spikes, except instead of paper, clothing was spiked through and stacked tall, towering over me,” says Lugris.
“As I walk through and around the installation, I am reminded of the lives of my North Korean family, and I continue dreaming of the day the border will open and we will reunite.”
Like surrealism, the political-art movement opposing totalitarianism in the aftermath of the horrors of WWI, the power of art and dreaming in these turbulent times holds the possibility for social change.
Last week, less than a month before the 2018 midterm elections, a cadre of Northern California artists shared their art and held a dialogue to raise awareness about U.S. domestic and foreign policies in the month-long mixed-media exhibition “Wake-Up! The Political Power of Art and Dreams,” held at the Claudia Chapline Gallery in Stinson Beach on Oct. 28, that now continues online…
In “They Never Stood a Chance,” a seven-foot-tall installation inspired by a dream, artist Jennifer Lugris envisions a metaphor for the North Korean government’s treatment of its people.
“When I was a child, I watched my parents stack receipts on a paper spike at their dry cleaning business,” remembers Lugris, a first-generation American. “In mid-2017, I started having a recurring dream about life-sized paper spikes, except instead of paper, clothing was spiked through and stacked tall, towering over me,” says Lugris.
“As I walk through and around the installation, I am reminded of the lives of my North Korean family, and I continue dreaming of the day the border will open and we will reunite.”
Rachel Heidenry, “UCSB Student Art Exhibition Takes Center Stage: Art MFAs Present Graduate Works in ‘The Chess Club’”
Santa Barbara Independent, May 29, 2018
Jennifer Lugris’s paintings are playful deconstructions of ordinary domesticity. Bright and colorful, the works depict tidbits of a scene among various-sized canvases, your eyes reconstructing the full visual as you slowly scan the wall. One canvas shows a pair of boots, another a kitchen table; a lamp and a window pane are revealed, as well as a human form. Considering the relationship between the ordinary and extraordinary, Lugris shows the everyday world as vibrant and alive, while challenging us to consider how reality is visually constructed.
Jennifer Lugris’s paintings are playful deconstructions of ordinary domesticity. Bright and colorful, the works depict tidbits of a scene among various-sized canvases, your eyes reconstructing the full visual as you slowly scan the wall. One canvas shows a pair of boots, another a kitchen table; a lamp and a window pane are revealed, as well as a human form. Considering the relationship between the ordinary and extraordinary, Lugris shows the everyday world as vibrant and alive, while challenging us to consider how reality is visually constructed.
For additional press, see Curriculum Vitae.