slippery when wet, 2015
CJM::LA presents the third and final show in our series DROUGHT RESISTANT, featuring recent works by Jenalee Harmon.
Curated by Patrick Melroy, the show runs August 3, 2015 through August 28, 2015.
Jenalee Harmon is an artist who works most often with vibrant color palettes that assault any notion of boring. She creates large photographic images, videos and objects of sleek clunky materials. Her work is arresting from a distance and captivating up close. Harmon’s work occupies the uncanny arena in which image and object converge. The images she creates spark elaborate back stories in the minds of the viewer. Often the viewer is left feeling like they saw both a wink and a nod which only left them with more questions. Harmon never gives in to the obvious and always presents art that makes you triple-take.
Harmon received her MFA from UCSB, a BFA in New Genres, from the San Franciso Art Institue. Her work is well traveled and she shows regularly. In addition to DROUGHT RESISTANT, her work will appear in Peak Experiences, Shangri-LA in Joshua Tree this September. She was also recently seen in Moist curated by Ginger Shulick Porcella at OCCCA in Santa Ana, CA. A small selection of the other shows she has been featured in include: Mystical Absolutes, Nervous for a New Reason and Ectoplastic Fantastic in Santa Barbara; Pardon My Condition curated by Andrea Huber at the Raymond Gallery Pasadena and Spectacular Subdivisions curated by Jay Lizo for High Desert Test Sites in Wonder Valley, CA.
The three artists in DROUGHT RESISTANT, Cathy Ellis, Megan Mueller, and Jenalee Harmon, are contemporary experts within their individual disciplines and regularly show their work nationally. The series is curated by Patrick Melroy. The idea for DROUGHT RESISTANT came from a creative conversation between CJM::LA principal Courtney Miller and several artists within the community. The substance of the discussion surrounded the desperate need for more quality venues for contemporary art within the very rich cultural center of Santa Barbara. Miller engaged curator Patrick Melroy who in turn invited three artists who have persevered through the shortage of show space and continued to advance their artistic practice despite not having a lot of room to spread out. The title of the series was entirely the idea of artist Megan Mueller.
The opening will be on Thursday, August 6 at 5 pm in collaboration with the Downtown Organization’s 1st Thursday event.
CJM::LA is located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, visit our Contacts page for more info.