Jen Gash

Like many artists, my relationship with painting has been turbulent at times. Yet my love of paint—and my deep need to create and investigate the world visually—has remained constant. Painters often strive to control, contain, or manipulate their medium, but paint resists such authority. Its unpredictable, fluid nature makes it an ideal partner for exploring the equally uncontrollable natural world. In my practice, I often set up conditions or parameters that allow the paint to act on its own terms. What emerges often aligns with the concept of Wu Wei—a state of spontaneous, effortless action that mirrors nature without force, ego, or anxiety. This is sometimes a starting point or sometimes occurs later in my process. I am currently drawn to themes of transformation and instability: how landscapes shift over time with and without human influence; landscapes as psychological terrains; the fragility and peculiarities of human beings; the tension between being and doing; and the ways we engage—or disengage—from the world around us. I incorporate elements from real places but also construct imagined landscapes, allowing both observation and invention to shape the work. I work primarily in oils and acrylics on varied surfaces and at multiple scales, choosing materials that best support the interplay between intention and chance.