JENNIFER PRINTZ: MEDITATIONS ON TIME, SPACE AND THE SUBLIME IN LITTLE RIVER

Flotsam, 2022, Pigment Print on organic cotton on prepared wood panel, 17.5 x 17.5 x 5 inches (photo credit Jennifer D. Printz)

Infinite and Transient, an exhibition of new works by Jennifer Printz, is currently on view at the Corridor Gallery at Dimensions Variable, a multifarious arts organization in Miami’s Little River. Printz gives us eight works which address sculptural concerns such as space and gravity, with pieces that hover between the two dimensional and the three.

Her work stems from an exploration of materials and, as consummate printmaker, she is
accustomed to responding to the needs of the medium. In her artwork she expands upon
the customary materials and techniques, stretching, pushing, straining their limits. In
Infinite and Transient, Printz chose fabrics with varied nuances. Her silk piece droops,
vacillating between comedy and tragedy, an elegant fraying along the bottom. The cotton
hovers in space, with printed images of the sky. In her two small works she
juxtaposes the near abstraction of the sky with the man-made grid and stripe patterns,
each strengthening the gap between geometric abstraction and organic abstraction.

Printz is very conscious of the distinction between what comes from nature and that which
comes from the mind of mankind. She specifically chose materials which have spent time
growing on the earth and enters the subtle dialogue which contains an inherent history about the origins of the wood, silk or cotton. This is the kind of “heritage” and anthropomorphism of materials artists enjoy.

Latent Potentialities II, 2022, Epson Ultrachrome Ink on cotton,and ink on prepared wood panel, 6.5 x 6.5 x 4 inches (photo credit Jennifer D. Printz)

The artist’s choice of making each of the works in a circular format speaks to her
understanding of the essential structures which make up all things. Her work is a bridge
between quantum physics and abstract art, surprisingly close to each other in describing
an unseen place. Molecules, cells, atoms, planets all take a circular shape and repeat
endlessly, the underlaying architecture of the universe. Her circles bring us a porthole to
the sky, not unlike James Turrell’s “Skyspace” works. However, here the space is coming
out into our realm as the fabric gently protrudes from the wooden frames, as if blown by a
soft wind.

There is an element of Printz’s process connected to her childhood: experience learning to
sew with her great aunt. Stitching is a meditative process for Printz, which connects the
works to contemplative practices. Each of the fabrics are sewn to the wood panel, a care
invisible to the viewer but which one can intuit in the quality and integrity of the work. The
round wood frames recall stitching rings, which was the initial jumping off place of this
journey.

Her work has an Agnes Martin-like gentle asceticism, a paring down. By discarding the
chatter of the mind and imagery, she offers a new experience. There is a stillness which
can only be found in nature.

Tangible Entity, Epson Ultrachrome Inks on silk on prepared wood panel, 18.5 x 9.5 x 1.5 inches (photo credit Jennifer D. Printz)

Agnes Martin wrote the following poem which relates to Printz’s artwork:
The adventurous state of / mind is a high house // To enjoy life the adventurous / state of
mind must be / grasped and maintained // The essential feature of adventure is that it is a /
going forward into / unknown territory // The joy of adventure is unaccountable // This is
the attractiveness of / artwork. It is adventurous, / strenuous and joyful.

In all these works there is but one punctuation mark, a tiny bird silhouetted in the sky, and
suddenly we are reminded these are not purely abstract works. The real abstraction
comes in the physical gestures of the folds. They inhabit our space, come out of the wall
to bring us into the folds, to envelope or embrace.

WHAT: Jennifer D. Printz: Infinite and Transient at Corridor Gallery
WHERE: Dimensions Variable, 101 NW 79th Street, 33150
WHEN: 1 PM – 5 PM Friday and Saturday, and by appointment
COST: FREE
INFORMATION: DimensionsVariable.net

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