Jennie Kiessling: In the Garden, In the Distance

Loveland Museum

503 N. Lincoln Avenue, Loveland, CO 80537

January 14-April 10, 2022

Admission: $7 ages 13+; Free Day: Wednesday, March 9

Review by Livy Snyder

With the origins of abstraction dating back over a hundred years, I would never blame an artist who felt stuck or intimidated by the challenge of expanding upon abstraction during the 21st century. However, it is evident from Jennie Kiessling’s exhibition In the Garden, In the Distance made up of 83 artworks that she feels no such intimidation but is rather inspired. From January 14 to April 10, Kiessling brings her abstract works to the Loveland Museum in three series: In the Garden, In the Distance, The Disciplined Painting, and Your Hunger Betrays You.

An installation view of Jennie Kiessling's exhibition *In the Garden, In the Distance* at the Loveland Museum. Image by Livy Snyder.

Although Kiessling was born and raised in Chicago, she has spent much of her life in the southwest. During her education at the School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and graduate work at University of Chicago, she became enchanted, as most people do, with the American West. In an interview with Voyage Denver, Kiessling describes her multiple trips to New Mexico along with other western states, and she eventually moved to the region in 2000. [1] Since then, she has placed artworks in private collections and is the recipient of both National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awards, and has taught at multiple institutions. While she may not be a Colorado native, she has certainly impacted the local arts community.

An installation view of Jennie Kiessling's series *The Disciplined Painting,* 2018-2020, latex paint and graphite on wood panel. Image by Livy Snyder.

Many of Kiessling's artworks at the Loveland Museum are small and intimate, usually no larger than 12 by 12 inches. Each piece is dispersed evenly in the exhibition to allow breathing room throughout the gallery space. Lighting also plays a major role in the viewing experience. Overall, the room is low lit with warm spotlights on each work, which has a calming effect.

One work in Jennie Kiessling's series *The Disciplined Painting,* 2018-2020, latex paint and graphite on wood panel. Image by Livy Snyder.

In the series The Disciplined Painting, Kiessling responds to a long history of abstract painting. At first glance, each artwork looks like she has painted it in one flat color. But, upon further investigation, you discover there are small markings, whether it is due to the light reflecting off of the graphite surface, the texture of a brushstroke, or a collaged element. Kiessling’s color palette is rather minimal. Sticking predominantly to black and white hues, she also occasionally incorporates blue, purple, or red.

Agnes Martin, *Tundra*, 1967, acrylic and graphite on linen, 72 x 72 inches. Image courtesy of the Harwood Museum of Art.

In the exhibition text, Kiessling writes that this series is specifically a continuation of a painting by Agnes Martin titled Tundra created in 1967. Tundra is an acrylic work housed on permanent display at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico. It is often referred to as Martin’s last grid painting. [2] This work was also the painting Martin made when her friend and mentor Ad Reinhardt passed away at the age of 53 years old. That same year, Martin decided to abandon her career in New York and self-isolate in New Mexico before returning to painting again in 1970. Tundra offers many ways to be inspired, whether it’s the halo effect of the light gray wash and graphite or as an indicator to Agnes Martin’s return to painting after moving out west. This painting also signals the start of a transition for Martin and perhaps parallels Kiessling’s own move to the west.

Kiessling’s passion for abstraction is evident by the amount and quality of works in the exhibition as well as in the exhibit text, which focuses on the history of abstraction and contextualizes each of her pieces. She is very much aware of the lineage of abstraction as she refers to Josef Albers, Piet Mondrian, and Ad Reinhardt in this statement. As Kiessling has noted, she feels her work can be thought of as “art about art.” [3] Yet there is another history to which Kiessling can’t help but respond.

Jennie Kiessling, *Work (art as art)*, 2021, graphite and tape on paper from the 1912 book *La Pia Giovinetta (The Pious Young Girl)*. Image by Livy Snyder.

The Loveland Museum is a place to view both art and historical exhibitions. The history exhibits portray the area as an early pioneer and immigrant settlement, highlighting its production of sugar beets among other things. As part of In the Garden, In the Distance, Kiessling incorporates collaged pages from La Pia Giovinetta (The Pious Young Girl), a pocket size, Italian prayer book published in 1912. The book is a compilation of prayers, meditations, and instructions on Catholicism for a young girl.

A display of Jennifer Kiessling’s grandfather’s prayer books in the exhibition *In the Garden, In the Distance*. Image by *DARIA*.

Kiessling paints geometrical shapes in bold hues with gouache over the faded yellow pages of the book to explicitly mimic her grandfather's prayer books, which he made by hand. She describes how “the structure of [her] small, framed abstractions are based on his structure of the book. Tape being part of the geometry of the abstraction.” [4] Immigration is a central theme in these works, including her own experience having an immigrant grandfather and that of the abstract painters she cites, who were either immigrants themselves or the sons or daughters of immigrants.

Jennie Kiessling, *Work (warm)*, 2021, graphite, gouache, and tape on paper from 1912 book *La Pia Giovinetta (The Pious Young Girl)*. Image by Livy Snyder.

Kiessling writes: “I am interested in creating a visual language that speaks to the juxtaposition of experiences occurring for immigrants and the children of immigrants in the early and mid-1900’s. This juxtaposition re-forms the possibilities of their experiences.” [5] Through abstraction, she is able to comment on the experience of migration and its effect on identity in her personal life, opening up the discussion to a larger audience. And Kiessling’s robust body of abstract work allows viewers to meditate on a range of subjects influenced by the history of abstract painting and stories of migration.

Livy Onalee Snyder graduated with a BA in Art History and BFA in Painting and Drawing from CU Denver and a Masters in Humanities from the University of Chicago. Currently, she serves as board president of Denver Digerati and works for punctum books.

[1] “Meet Jennie Kiessling,” Local Stories, Voyage Denver, May 26, 2020, http://voyagedenver.com/interview/meet-jennie-kiessling/.

[2] From my conversation with Jennie Kiessling via email correspondence on January 30, 2022.

[3] “Meet Jennie Kiessling | Painter,” Local Stories, Shout Out Colorado, April 6, 2021, https://shoutoutcolorado.com/meet-jennie-kiessling-painter/.

[4] In conversation with Jennie Kiessling over email correspondence on January 30, 2022.

[5] Jennie Kiessling, In the Garden, In the Distance exhibition text at the Loveland Museum of Art.