The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2024 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Gretchen Durst Jacobs
gretchen durst jacobsDAYTON OH 45405 United States Home Phone: 9376094225 Website: http://gretchendurstjacobs.com
Bio
Durst Jacobs earned her BFA from Wright State University in Dayton, OH and her MFA from the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. She also studied at the New York Studio School, NY, NY. She has exhibited nationally and internationally in both group and solo shows. She has had many solo shows and in 2021, The Dana Wiley Gallery, in Dayton, OH mounted her 8th. Group exhibitions include, New York Studio School, NY; Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; Dutoit Gallery, Dayton, OH; Dresden, Germany; Kyoto, Japan among others. In 2013 Durst Jacobs curated an exhibition and poetry reading at the Dayton Visual Arts Center, Dayton, OH. In 2016 she was selected from a statewide juried call to complete a commissioned painting for Re-imaging Works, for the Main Metro Library in Dayton, Ohio. She has attended multiple residencies; Jentel, Banner WY; Zygote Press, Cleveland,OH; Zea Mays Printing, Florence, MA; Grafikwerkstatt, Dresden, Germany. Durst Jacobs is currently the President of The Dayton Printmakers Cooperative, in Dayton, Ohio. She has been adjunct faculty at Wright State University, and Miami University, teaching painting, drawing and color theory. She has also participated in many artist talks, panel discussions and leads workshops. The artist currently lives and works in both Ontario, Canada and Dayton, Ohio.
Artist Statement
I create non-objective paintings informed by the scale of my body; most of my paintings are made within 65 inches, which is my height, and reach from fingertip to fingertip. Muscle memory is the intuitive yet informed method I use to make my work. My mark making is immediate and direct, aligning my thoughts and intuition.
This method is rooted in feminine knowledge that stems from a combination of my psychological interior and an observance of the natural world. After 25 years of en plein air painting, nature has come to offer me solace and a reconciling ability to observe its destructive and creative processes, acting as a mirror for my daily lived experience. It provides the energetic chaos and is the foundation from which I work to create order through the process of painting.
I am interested in movement, rhythm and space and my color palettes are carefully chosen and usually limited, red often playing a dominant role, where it references bodily fluids, energy and power. This type of mark making – large swaths of paint and color laid down, at times without reference to brushwork – stems from my background as a landscape painter and printmaker, and is expressive and tender. In this I embody the landscape.
The dominant canon of abstract painting has long been associated with masculinity, and so I reclaim this process as I wonder, what is feminine abstract painting? I spend time with unanswerable questions, yet an insatiable desire to quantify something that is unquantifiable is my ongoing inquiry. By diligently utilizing all of my faculties – body and mind I can best reflect upon and observe my subject of consequence, my enduring and sacred relationship with the natural world and its essential place in my life and work.
