Jeni Spota’s petite impasto canvases have made her one of painting’s Bright Young Things, catching the eye of collectors like Charles Saatchi and François Pinault.
Spota’s paintings are densely populated with crowds taken from biblical texts, by way of Italian Renaissance art. Applied with a heavy hand, the paint itself creates sculptural forms on the canvas, drawing comparisons to the work of 20th-century artists like Frank Auerbach, David Park, and Lester Johnson.
Shortly after she received her MFA from The School at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007, Spota sold out her first solo show before its opening, while MoCA Chicago had to borrow pieces from collectors in order to include her in a recent group exhibition. Now an LA transplant, Spota is gearing up for another solo show at Kathryn Brennan Gallery (née Sister), where her unique combination of ornamental painting technique with canonical subject matter is certain to be another hit.
Read an interview with the artist, visit her Kathryn Brennan Gallery exhibition page, and check out a review of her first solo show.
Jeni Spota, Coat of Arms for the Coat of Arms (2009), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Sister/ Kathryn Brennan Gallery.
Jeni Spota, Don’t Tread on Me (2008), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Santa Monica Museum of Art.
Jeni Spota, Giotto’s Dream (Hierarchies Of Desire version) (2007), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Sister/ Kathryn Brennan Gallery.
Jeni Spota Flag (2009), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Sister/ Kathryn Brennan Gallery.
Jeni Spota Mistakes (2008), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Sister/ Kathryn Brennan Gallery.
Jeni Spota Sienese Garden (2008), oil on canvas. Courtesy of Sister/ Kathryn Brennan Gallery.