Born in New Jersey in 1971, Jenifer Kent received her BFA from Rutgers University in 1994, and MFA from Mills College in 1999. She currently lives in Northern California and has exhibited in locations there such as the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, The Lab & the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. Recently, Jenifer’s work was selected for inclusion in The Sheltering Sky at the Palo Alto Art Center, the award-winning West Marin Journal, New American Paintings and the Drawing Discourse Exhibition of Contemporary Drawing at UNC Asheville.

Through deliberate mark-making without the use of rulers, Kent sculpts infinite lines on panel that expand through space, revealing organized shapes. The breathtaking organic forms that result from her iterative process mirror microscopic and cosmic landscapes, fossils, and flora. Her works are at once spellbinding in their detailed complexity, yet harmonious and peaceful in their simplicity of form and minimal aesthetic.

What inspires your work?

I’m interested in the process of repetition as a meditation, and as a way to mark a larger experience. I am also inspired by nature and its relationship to the body. When I put pen to paper and create a mark over and over again, the process of making can become like a meditation, and the final piece becomes evidence of that activity. I think that the repetitive process we are all unconsciously engaged in is part of what connects us, and often that process translates into organic forms and patterns which I draw. I also love good design, and so I’m very much inspired by minimal form and I strive to incorporate that simplicity into my work. 

Can you describe your studio?

I work in an old barn that sits in the middle of a field with sheep grazing in it. My workspace is very minimal with a large table and white walls so that I can focus on what I’m making without a lot of clutter or distraction. Sometimes the sheep peek their heads in my door to see what I’m up to.

Is there an artist(s) who inspires you?

I am inspired by artists like Agnes Martin, Annie Albers, Ruth Asawa, Nasreen Mohamedi…

Overall, I’m very much inspired by minimalism and process work, but I also love to look at the mark-making language of artists like Hokusai and Van Gogh. I love looking at any artist’s drawings, but especially the drawings of sculptors, like Anne Truitt, Eva Hesse, Louise Bourgeois…

Do you follow any routines as you work?

I’m usually working on more than one piece at a time, which allows me to vary the repetitive marks my hand is making. When I enter my studio, I often clean up before getting to work, but once I start drawing, I like to listen to music or a good audiobook or podcast. I like to always have something in process so that when I sit down to work, I can just begin. When I’m working, my mind tends to wander and the mark-making becomes like a meditation, always bringing me back to what’s in front of me. 

How would you define your personal aesthetic?

Minimal. Simple. Natural materials. I like materials that are natural like cotton and wool and wood and metal. My husband is a craftsman and we both have a fondness for well-made things, so, even on a budget, we gravitate towards simple things that marry beauty and function.

Discuss your commitment to your medium?

For many years now, I have just worked simply with pen on panel. I like using a clay-coated panel (Claybord) which gives me a very smooth white surface, and I love Micron pens for their consistency and fine lines. I used to do a lot of printmaking, and I originally trained as a painter, so I’ve worked with many different media over the years, but the pen and panel feels so simple and direct to me, and I love just sitting down to draw without so much prep, so the process is in the line itself rather than the preparation. 

Discuss your relationship with nature in regards to your work?

Nature inspires me and feeds me. My time spent hiking, backpacking, and camping helps to keep me inspired and noticing the important details all around me. I try to maintain a connection with the land I occupy and the relationship with my local plants and animals is something that also keeps me inspired. Nature is everything.

What is your favorite art museum or gallery?

You mean besides Landing Contemporary?! ☺

I love the Drawing Center in NYC, and also the Mass MOCA. Here in SF, I love the SFMoMA, the Jewish Contemporary, and the Berkeley Art Museum. I love galleries that show quality work with an emphasis on abstraction and craft. 

Do you collect the work of other artists? If so, who?

Yes, my home is filled with artwork. Most of the work I have is by artists that I have known and worked with and we have traded or gifted work to each other, like Matthew Scheatzle, Nathan Lynch, Mel Prest, Patricia Thomas, Hung Liu… I also have a few pieces that I have just loved and bought because I was moved by their beauty.

What’s your favorite place in the world?

Well, I do love where I live. I love to look out the window at the rolling hills and grazing sheep, and it just brings me peace. I also love the desert, particularly the high desert of the eastern sierra. I grew up in NJ which is very green, and something about the smell of sagebrush and the greygreenbrown of desert landscapes gets me every time. 

What keeps you going as an artist?

The next piece! I’m always thinking about what I want to do next, and also, I just deeply enjoy the act of making and being engaged with using my hand to create something.

What sentiment would you like viewers to take away from looking at your work?

Peace, calm, an experience of timelessness and an appreciation of balance and beauty.

View Jenifer Kent’s works