My current work involves themes of motherhood, neuro-divergent identity, and the painfully ridiculous. In 2018, I began using paint to locate my identity, which I had misplaced somewhere in the act of becoming a mother. Earlier paintings explored themes of surveillance, the inversion of the male gaze, and suppressed anxiety. Through the act of painting myself postpartum, I discovered that I was not distinct from my family. I’m not solo anymore; I multiplied. Or I disappeared. Probably both; my boundaries have always been a little bit soft. These figurative oil and acrylic paintings are stories of particular moments. They carry color like a sunset next to a trash bin filled with Barbies; ordinary situations, domestic arrangements, that leave room for something else. Bits and pieces of our lives make their appearances on the painted stage. There are the plants and flowers I've cultivated in our front yard to make it seem less suburban and more wild. A cute little dog that jumps at our faces. An aquarium with a snail that ruthlessly ate the beautiful little orange fish. Family life is cruel and beautiful, our days are numbered, and it's all very lovely, funny, and horrifying.
Biography | Jen E. Sanders is a Los Angeles based artist who makes representational, figurative and landscape paintings that function as aesthetic narratives. After graduating from NYU in 2004 with an MA in Studio Art, her work was shown in upstate New York and at the National Arts Club, Viridian Artists, and 80 Washington Square East Galleries in New York City. From 2006 to 2013 she performed original work at Bowery Poetry Club, NY International Fringe Festival, ARS Nova, Magnet Theater and the PIT NYC. In LA, her paintings have been shown at Shoebox Projects, Seneca Slideshow at Rebecca Molayem Gallery, and Superfine Art Fair at Magic Box in LA. Her “Painted Dress,” developed in 2023 at Subcircle Artist Residency in Biddeford, Maine, continues to appear in the social activations and performances of Propelled Animals, based in Philadelphia.
CV
Education
Independent Painting Study with Judith Simonian of Cooper Union, New York, NY 2021 - Present
Artist Mentorship with Nancy Murphy Spicer of SAIC, Chicago, Illinois, 2021- Present
MA, Studio Art , New York University, New York, NY, 2004
BA, Slavic Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 2000
Group Shows
Superfine Art Fair, Magic Box LA, Los Angeles, 2023
Seneca Slideshow, Rebecca Molayem Gallery, Los Angeles, November 2022
Children 2022, Gallerium Art Exhibition and Publication, 2022
“Perceive You” Group Show, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, 2022
CMF Red Barn Lobby Exhibition, Catskill Mountain Foundation, Hunter, NY, 2006-2008
MA Thesis Exhibition, 80 Washington Square East Gallery, New York, NY, 2004
XIVth Annual Juried Exhibition, Viridian Artists, Robert Rosenblum, Juror, New York, NY 2003
Postcards from the Edge, Visual Aids, New York, NY 2003
National Arts Club Emerging Artists, National Arts Club, New York, NY 2003
Artist Residencies
Hobert Visual Art Retreat, Connecticut, October 2024
Subcircle Residency, Biddeford, Maine, Summer 2023
Professional Positions Held
Art Director/Graphic Designer, Finn Partners, Inc., New York & Los Angeles, 2011-2015
Director/Coach, Improvisational Comedy, Magnet Theater, PIT Theater in New York, Clubhouse, Los Angeles, 2010-2015
Founder/President, Shoot From the Hip, Improv to Film Intensive, Hunter, NY 2009-2011
Graphic Designer/Printing Press Manager, Ruder Finn, Inc., New York, NY, 2004-2011
Teaching Artist, Painting, Sugar Maples Center for Arts and Education, Hunter, NY, 2004-2007
Exhibit Translation, Russian Ethnography Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1998
Memberships/Awards
GDUSA American Graphic Design Award, Outstanding Infographic Design, 2014
Board Member, Bowery Poetry Club, New York, NY, 2011-2013
Board Member, The Exchange, New York, NY, 2007-2009
Dobro Slovo National Slavic Honor Society, for Academic Achievement in Russian Language & Literature at CU Boulder, 1998
Performance
“Inside Amy Schumer, ” on Paramount+, November 2022
“The Shower,” Writer/Director, California Women’s Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA, 2018
“Never Buy Napkins,” music video, Los Angeles, CA, 2014 Performer,
“Choral Rage,” Magnet, UCB Theaters, New York & Los Angeles, 2009-2018
“THEM,” PIT Theater, New York, NY, 2012-2013
“The Made Up Musical,” Magnet Theater, New York, NY 2011-2013
One Woman Show, “Worm Hole,” Magnet Theater, B.A.D. Festival, New York, NY, 2012
“Serves Three,” Roy Arias Stages, New York, NY, 2011
“Baby Wants Candy,” New York, NY, 2011
“Tell All,” Bowery Poetry Club, New York, NY 2010
“A Fine Line,” International Fringe Festival, New York, NY, 2009
“Elsie Jay,” Ars Nova ANT Festival, New York, NY, 2009
“POPE! The Musical,” Magnet Theater, New York, NY 2009
“SuckerFish Messiah,” Jean Cocteau Repertory, New York, NY 2006