by Bailey White
Staff Writer
The art world has the potential for intimidating newcomers.
Minimalist galleries don’t always feel friendly, conceptual installation pieces may be hard to interpret and paintings hanging in heavy, gilded frames can feel stuffy and overwhelming.
Jennifer Henley has decided it doesn’t have to be that way.
Henley, an artist working at the Brooklyn Arts & Design Center on East Forsyth Street, has organized the “Pin-Up Show” during Downtown Vision, Inc.’s First Wednesday Art Walk.
She and other local artists will be exhibiting small, unframed works on paper that will be priced for sale between $10 and $300.
They’ll be pinned-up, creating an informal, unfussy gallery space that Henley is hoping will inspire first-time buyers and seasoned collectors to make a purchase.
“I wanted to get the community excited about art,” she said. “That’s really the point. Plus, it’s a way to bring local artists together and to show a lot of different techniques and styles.”
Henley said a myriad of different media will be represented.
“There will be lots of drawing, painting and photography,” she said, “and also collage, photo transfers, prints, all kinds of things.”
Though Henley concentrated in sculpture when earning a degree at the Atlanta College of Art, she works in a variety of media. Her work will be on exhibit in the front gallery.
Her sculpture often pairs traditional materials like bronze, with contemporary subjects, like headphones. Even some of her paintings— done on blocky wooden panels— have a sculptural feel to them.
Other works, like “I Used to Love Her,” make use of less traditional media. It’s a video of break dancers shot through a plexiglass screen, which somewhat obscures the scene. It’s meant to represent a divided society, an idea Henley shares with artist Dan Graham.
Henley leads a busy life. She works eight hours a day with her brother Buddy, who owns American Rebuilt Products, an auto parts store. Then she goes to her studio, sometimes for several hours a night.
“An artist’s life can be hard,” she said, though it’s clear she has a passion for it.
“I’ll head over to the studio after work, and it’s dark by the time I leave, and I will have had no idea that it was so late.”
And she’s decided to continue with her art education.
She’s been accepted to the San Francisco Art Institute, where she’ll work on a graduate degree, concentrating on sculpture. She was awarded grants and scholarships, but is still raising money for tuition. In fact, a portion of all proceeds will go directly toward it.
Pin-Up Show will be held at the Brooklyn Arts & Design Center at 123 E. Forsyth St. (across from the Florida Theatre) from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday. It is free to attend and refreshments will be provided by Seven Bridges and Worman’s Bakery.