JENNA WESTRA (*1986, Grand Rapids, MI) is a New York based artist working with photography and film.
We are happy to announce Thread Song by New York based artist Jenna Westra, her third solo show at the gallery. When gallerist Anne Schwarz spoke of a red thread running through Jenna Westra’s new body of work, Westra thought of the words Thread Song, and they stuck to her mind as the show’s title. Without a direct English equivalent, the ‘red thread’ stems from the German idiom ‘ein roter Faden’, describing an underlying theme, a core motif, a recurring aspect leading the way. Subtle meanings or sound qualities can get lost in translation, while at the same time, new ones are created. In this case; the homophone ‘red’ and the rhyme of the two English words – ‘red thread’ – give a poetic, lyrical tone to the expression. A similar tone weaves through Westra’s visual language, too. She makes compositional rhythms out of female forms, framing them in feminist histories and present-day femenine solidarities. Her pictures transmit female strength, energy, and softness.
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