Jenna Gribbon was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1978. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, US.
Gribbon’s paintings explore the feelings and implications of seeing and being seen. Her paintings are intimate portraits of her friends, partner, family and fellow painters, which encourage the viewer to reflect on their role as a consumer of beauty, and intimacy and as voyeurs of the narratives of others. A focus on vision permeates every layer of Gribbon’s work, with titles such as ‘Ritualized Looking’, ‘Deck Peek’ and ‘When I looked at you, the light changed’. The scenes are painted from Gribbon’s first point perspective, making the artist’s presence felt by emphasising her particular viewpoint. The viewer directly replaces the artist, seeing Gribbon’s subject from the exact position that she occupied in the scene, not only looking at the subject but invited to view Gribbon’s own experience of looking at them.
Solo exhibitions include: MASSIMODECARLO, London (2022); Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia (2022); Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg (2022); Fredericks & Freiser, New York (2021; 2019); The Journal Gallery, New York (2020); GNYP Gallery, Berlin (2020); Howard’s Gallery, Athens, Georgia (2020); Modern Love Club, New York (2017).
Group exhibitions include: FLAG Art Foundation, New York, (2023); The Frick Collection, New York (2022); Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX (2022); Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, (2021); MASSIMODECARLO, London (2021); Hussenot Gallery, Paris (2021); GRIMM, Amsterdam (2021); The Mass, Tokyo (2021).
