Jessica vollrath

AVAILABLE WORKS

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

FORT WORKS ART is pleased to announce artist Jessica (McClendon) Vollrath’s second Solo- Exhibition with the gallery. Her first exhibition at FWA was in the Spring of 2018, and at the time she was a recent graduate student with her MFA from Texas Women’s University. At that point she had a studio in Dallas and had only herself to worry about providing for. Cut to 2022, and Vollrath is now a wife and a mother. She has moved her studio into her home to allow her to be with her children and to be able to continue her practice as a full-time working artist.

Vollrath’s new body of work consisting primarily of images of Magna tiles, the magnetic building toys used by kids to play and learn geometry, brings both a playful and an isolating feeling to the viewer. Referencing the changes in her life that she has experienced since becoming a mother and working at home through the pandemic, Vollrath turns the simple and mundane into something relevant and iconic. She reminds us, that by being both caretakers of children as well as being our own individuals, we are all interconnected in ways we often don’t recognize. Taking such a basic everyday item, Vollrath endeavors to unite individuals together that might otherwise feel disconnected. These symbols translate across the ideologies and definitions of self that we all carry. They bring us together, even during times of intense division, isolation, and loneliness, like what we have experienced throughout this current chapter in our history.

Vollrath is known for her highly painterly figurative works, where the surface texture, imagery, and commentary are all equally important elements in the work. In the last year, she has shifted away from these highly realistic figurative works. These new paintings, while also based in realism, are a departure from the figure. They are somewhat confusing and abstracted and initially there is the question of “what am I looking at”. There is an uncertainty before the viewer recognizes the image. Once that recognition is made however, the viewer can become truly involved with the work. Her technique and commitment to realism remains unchanged. The thick brushstrokes of oil paint, the coloration of the paints she chooses, and the haunting quality of Vollrath’s work are still at the forefront of her work.

In announcing ‘On the Continuum’, FWA owner and curator Lauren Saba stated, “Vollrath continues to create images with such striking light and color. She is so skilled at painting realism that looks tight and perfect, but upon inspection has actually used a painterly and loose technique. The power of these works continues to be driven by the energetic source of life from within this artist.”

This exhibition will run from March 22, 2022 - April 23, 2022, with an artist reception on Spring Gallery Night, March 26th. ‘On the Continuum’’ will feature more than 25 oil paintings Vollrath has created over the past year.

Biography

Jessica Vollrath (née McClendon) received her MFA in 2017 from Texas Woman’s University and her BFA, graduating suma cum laude from Howard University. Post undergrad, she traveled to India to intern as a labor and birth coach at Booma Hospital in Tamil Nadu. Her work is currently on display at Fort Work Art in her first major solo exhibition, Self Timer (on display until Dec. 8th). McClendon has been featured all over DFW, in galleries like 500X Gallery, Art Room, Creative Arts Center, Museum of Biblical Arts, as well as TWU Galleries. She has also been a resident artist at Tech Wildcatters at Alto 211 in Downtown Dallas and Woodsong Institute of Art and the recipient of multiple scholarships and Best of Show awards in juried competitions. Vollrath teaches as an adjunct at Eastfield College in Mesquite TX and continues to work out of her private studio in Dallas.

Artist Statement

I am an oil painter mostly. Light and shadow and how it plays on my subject are the main components that get the creative juices flowing.

Simply put, I paint people. I paint people because I find people to be incredibly beautiful. Most of us judge human beauty strictly on what we find sexually attractive. I don’t see it so binary I suppose. People of all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors are absolutely stunning. The wrinkles in the skin, the blemishes…all of it is gorgeous when the light hits it right.

I guess my message may be just as simple. Love. What do people want more than anything else? To be seen. To be loved. I love my fellow man by turning them into masterpieces. I paint them and say, “look at how beautiful you are.” Most people don’t see themselves as works of art. But we are.

Exhibitions

• 2018 Solo Exhibition, Self Timer, Fort Work Art, Fort Worth TX – Nov.-Dec.

• 2018 Blurred Lines, Janette Kennedy Gallery, Dallas, TX – July

• 2018 Affirmations, South Dallas Cultural Center, Dallas, TX – February

• 2018 Overneath, Northern Southern Gallery, Austin, TX – January

• 2017 Duets 2.0, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth TX- November/December

• 2017 Scope, Art Basel, Miami FL-December

• 2017 Eight, Art Room Gallery, Fort Worth, TX – September

• 2017 In Good Company, Eastfield College, Dallas TX – August

• 2017 Sam Hard: Sam With Us Baby, DIY Gallery, Fort Worth TX- August/September

• 2017 Solo Exhibition, Cultivar, Oak Cliff TX – August

• 2017 Online Exhibition, Art Kudos, Artshow.com

• 2017 These Are My Friends, Hosted by ArtTooth, Shipping and Receiving, Fort Worth TX

• 2017 Hypnagogia: The Space Between, Neighborhood Cult, Fort Worth TX

• 2017 Hot and Sweaty, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX

• 2017 I Am. They Are. We Are, Butler Brothers Building, Dallas TX (catalogue)

• 2017 #28Grams, Fort Work Gallery, Fort Worth, TX

• 2016 Six, Art Room Gallery, Fortworth, TX (catalogue)

• 2016 Solo Exhibition, Being Known, 010 Gallery, Denton, TX

• 2016 500X, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX (Juror: Rachel Rogerson)

• 2016 Imbue, Tiburon Arte Pop-up, Fortworth, TX

• 2016 Urban Scene, Highland Park Pop-up show, Dallas, TX

• 2016 Xl, TWU Galleries, Denton, TX

• 2016 TWO, Art Room Gallery, Fortworth, TX (catalogue)

• 2015 Live Paint, The Genius Den, Dallas, TX

• 2015 Weinkein Juried Exhibition, TWU Galleries, Denton, TX (Juror: Pam Campbell)

• 2015 10 Under 30, Fort Work Gallery, Dallas, TX

• 2014 Post Presence, Deep Ellum Pop-up, Dallas, TX

• 2014 The Lucky Seven, TWU Galleries, Denton, TX

• 2013 Serendipity, Creative Arts Center, Bonham, TX

• 2013 8 X 8, Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, TX

• 2012 13th Annual Staff Exhibition, Christie’s Art Auction, New York, NY

• 2012 81st Annual Student Exhibition, Howard University, Washington, DC

• 2011 80th Annual Student Exhibition, Howard University, Washington, DC

• 2011 Locked in, Howard University, Washington, DC

• 2010 19th Annual Student Show, City College, San Diego, CA

• 2010 Clairemont Art Guild Student Show, Mira Mesa Collage, CA

• 2009 18th Annual Student Show, City College, San Diego, CA

• 2000 Stock Show Art Show, Southwestern Exposition, Fort Worth, TX

• 1999 Stock Show Art Show, Southwestern Exposition, Fort Worth, TX

• 1999 Fannin County Youth Art Show, Red River Valley Association, Bonham, TX

• 1998 Katherine Sherwood Art Show, Bonham, TX

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