Her penchant for painting, especially from nature, is totally political, as she believes that we belong here and deserve to be seen, acknowledged, heard and imaged with indecent liberality and accuracy. This is the approach of the artist Jennifer Packer who presents for her first solo exhibition « The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing ».
Combining perception, improvisation and memory, Packer‘s cozy portraits of loved ones demand the enthusiastic and real substance of the contemporary black lives she depicts. While the rest of her images are a consequence of her consideration for her models, Packer recognizes that her decision to paint figures is political: representation and especially perception of life are methods of taking a stand and sharing.
Oil on canvas 76.2 x 61 cm 30 x 24 inches
Collection of Ursula Burns
Photo: Jason Wyche
Packer‘s work surveys recorded ways of dealing with these types of suffering, projecting them in a political and contemporary light, while being set in a deeply personal framework. Occasionally, Jennifer Packer depicts her rose structures as bundles of funeral flowers and containers of individual sadness; these canvases of unhappiness are frequently made because of the misfortunes of state and institutional brutality against black people.
« The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing » offers visitors 34 works created over a decade and features portraits of artists from the artist’s New York circle, monochromatic canvases, flowery still lifes of private interiors including « Say Her Name » created in 2017, painted in response to the dubious disappearance of Sandra Bland, a black lady who is widely believed to have been killed while under police care in 2015. The exhibition also includes drawings that, for the artist, are rarely an examination, but have their own charge that contrasts with these paintings. « The Eye Is Not Satisfied With Seeing » is on view through August 22, 2021 at the Serpentine South Gallery in London.
