Jenny Rodgerson’s figurative paintings are powerful. They embody both a stillness and a potent sense of inhabited presence. In her distinctive nudes and self-portraits, the contrast between nuanced light and shade combines with a bold sense of colour to arrive at an arresting resolve that captures the essence, or what Wittgenstein would call, the “whatness” of the subject.
Jenny always paints from life, without photographic reference materials or preparatory sketches, she applies oil paint directly to canvas. This process allows for an immediacy and fluidity between the observation of her subject and the recording of it; infusing her works with a recognisably human perspective, honesty and depth.
Portraits presents a selection of Jenny Rodgerson’s large scale self portraits and nudes, including Bound by the big red coat, for which she was awarded the Portia Geach Memorial Prize in 2016, together with a collection of smaller studies in oil.
