Jennie C. Jones

This fall the Pulitzer Arts Foundation presents two illuminating exhibitions exploring the art of the multi-disciplinary artist Jennie C. Jones (b. 1968): one, of Jones’s new and recent work; the other, curated by the artist herself, featuring works by artists who have been touchstones throughout her career.  

A Line When Broken Begins Again debuts a major site-specific commission alongside paintings, sound works, and collages. Other Octaves: Curated by Jennie C. Jones features 34 works by artists who have inspired Jones, including Mildred Thompson, Ben Patterson, and Mavis Pusey—figures still little-known today.

Jones is internationally recognized for developing a body of work that calls attention to relationships between painting, sound, and space. Drawing on modernism and minimalism, she grounds viewers in the auditory present while transporting them into the history of music, especially the Black avant-garde.

“To anyone versed in the history of modern art, Jennie’s abstract paintings will look familiar. But they’re actually radical experiments into bridging a gap in cultural history, one that separates avant-garde visual art from music,” says Cara Starke, Executive Director, Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

“Jennie presents her first freestanding sculpture for an interior space in A Line When Broken Begins Again,” notes Stephanie Weissberg, Senior Curator at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, who has organized the exhibition with Heather Alexis Smith, Assistant Curator.

Weissberg continues, “In so doing, she extends her career-long investigation into how the very materiality of visual art can be made to enhance a viewer’s consciousness of sound—and, thus, their place in the present. Point of Perspective takes this project even further into the realm of an enveloping space and shifting movement.”

Jones recalls, “My aha moment was to thread painting, architecture, and acoustics together, to bring my poetic and heartachy love of music history together with the narrative of how American modernism was constructed.”

In light-filled galleries designed by architect Tadao Ando, Jones presents recent and new abstract paintings built from architectural felt and acoustic panels on canvas. Their colors include pale ochre, warm grey, and deep burgundy that change in natural light. Strips of bright red run along the edges of the canvases, creating a glowing effect that Jones compares to sonic reverbs and hums.

The Main Gallery centers on Point of Perspective, a commissioned, site-responsive installation that engages Ellsworth Kelly’s Blue Black (2001), a foundational work in the Pulitzer’s permanent collection. As a young artist, Jones admired Kelly’s use of form and color while simultaneously feeling frustration over the pressure to create work about her identity as a Black woman. For this installation, Jones constructed a towering “L” shape mirroring Kelly’s Blue Black proportions. As one moves, the sculpture shifts in relation to Kelly's painting, even eclipsing it from certain vantage points. A red edge along the back creates a halo effect from multiple angles.

In the Cube Gallery, two sound works—RPM and Interlude—reverberate through Ando’s architecture. These compositions are accompanied by rose-colored light that echoes the red hums in Jones’s paintings and sculpture. Together, sound and light transform the space into an immersive environment, extending the artist's exploration of the interplay between the visual and the aural.

Other Octaves: Curated by Jennie C. Jones transforms the museum’s lower level into a homage to artists who have inspired Jones, many active in the ‘60s and ‘70s, including Carmen Herrera, Agnes Martin, and Benjamin Wigfall. “I’m not interested in organizing an art historical exhibition here, but, rather, a picture of the resonances across various practices and media that have informed my thinking,” notes Jones. “I’ve long admired these artists for resolutely following their own paths and, in so doing, disrupting and providing a counterpoint to the mainstream art dialogues of their day.”

Highlights include Anne Truitt’s Harvest Shade (1996), Alma Thomas’s Red Tree in High Winter (1968), Carmen Herrera’s Borealis (1966/2016), and Agnes Martin’s Benevolence (2001). Works engaging musical include Ben Patterson’s Variations for Double-Bass, Charles Gaines’s Incomplete Text #6 “E” (1978–1979), and Hanne Darboven’s Month III (March) (1974).

The exhibition also features a woodcut by Martin Puryear (2016), collages by Louise Nevelson (1972), three prints by Mavis Pusey (1963, 1965, 1970), and a relief collagraph by Zarina (1969). 

About the Pulitzer
Located in the Grand Center Arts District, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation is dedicated to bringing world-class art and exhibitions to the St. Louis region. Exhibitions include both contemporary and historic art and are complemented by a wide range of free public programs, including music, literary arts, dance, and cultural discussions. Open and free to all, the Pulitzer is a cultural and civic asset to the St. Louis community and a popular destination for visitors from around the world. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 10am–5pm, with evening hours until 8pm on Friday. For more information, visit pulitzerarts.org.