JEN OLDKNOW | ABSTRACT PAINTER
b. 1975 Lincolnshire, UK Diploma in Drawing & Painting, London Art College, 2010 Current studios in Derbyshire and London, UK
Creating oil paintings and works on paper, with an emphasis on the use of vibrant colour, texture, and bold gestural marks to conjure a personal response to the ups and downs of life.
‘Something Intangible, Something Shared’; Jen Oldknow in conversation with A’Dora Phillips for the Vision & Art Project - read here
ARTIST STATEMENT
“My work as a painter is rooted in my need to continually explore through the physicality of paint and colour the threads that intrinsically connect vision, and expression of emotion. Diagnosed with macular degeneration in my twenties, which should perhaps be devastating to a visual artist, only serves to make me a stronger artist, more clearly focused on my source is and methods of expression as I transfer my attention from the exterior world to the interior existence of human life.
I create from a place of personal connection and experience. My paintings are concerned with visualising the intangible; explorations of the inner landscape of human experience, feeling and emotion expressed in an intuitive language of vibrant colour, texture, and bold marks. I continually ask questions of both myself and the materials I use in response to issues that cannot necessarily be seen, yet are shared by all. The aim is not to offer an explicit answer, but to entice the viewer into a conversation, to glimpse a shared world beyond themselves, with a meaning deeper than words.”
EDUCATION
2010 Diploma in Drawing & Painting, London Art College
AWARDS
2012 NEWA Liverpool Award
2013 Arts Council Prize
2014 Chairman’s Award, Castle Park Arts Centre, Cheshire
2015 Highly Commended (two paintings), Castle Park Arts Centre, Cheshire
2015 Highly Commenced, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Open Exhibition
2016 Shortlisted for the FOA Autumn Expo Prize
2016 Shortlisted for the Stwidio Maelor Works on Paper Prize
2019 First Prize, National Trust Art Prize
COLLECTIONS
American Macular Degeneration Society
The Vision & Art Project, Cincinnati
The Sketchbooks Project, New York
The Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths University, London
Clocktower Group, London
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
MJS Group, London
Numerous private collections in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East
EXHIBITIONS
Mall Galleries, London, UK
Menier Gallery, London, UK
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, UK
Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
Castle Park Arts Centre, Cheshire, UK
Moss Gallery, Norway
Stwidio Maelor, Wales, UK
Wirksworth Arts Festival, Derbyshire, UK
Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire, UK
The Old Lock Up Gallery, Derbyshire, UK
Trygve Lie Gallery, New York, USA
Porthmeor Studios, St Ives, Cornwall, UK
The Derbyshire Open Exhibition, Buxton, Derbyshire, UK
The Women's Art Library, Goldsmiths University, London
CCD, Orlands, FL, USA
Vibe Galley, London, UK
William H. Miller Fine Art, Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Strathnairn Arts, Canberra, AUS
The little Gallery, Derbyshire, UK
Studio 54, Derbyshire, UK
Exhale Unlimired Gallery, LA, USA
Out Of The Blue Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Muse Gallery, Derbyshire
Derbyshire Open Arts, UK
Belper Open Studios, Derbyshire, UK
The Ashbourne Open, Derbyshire, UK
Belper Arts Trail, Derbyshire, UK
PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA
‘Paint' magazine, UK, 2018
The FOA Winter Publication, USA, 2017
Featured collection, Saatchi Art, USA, 2016
Interview, The Vision + Art Project, USA, 2016
Interview, 'Fine Art' magazine, UK, 2016
Featured artist, 'Artists + Illustrators' magazine, UK, 2015
Featured artist, 'The Artist' magazine, UK, 2015
Interview, 'Artsbeat' magazine, UK, 2015
Interview, 'Paint' magazine, UK, 2015
'101 Creative Artworks', Pandora, 2014
Interview, 'Paint' magazine, UK, 2014