Chris Jennings - Attachments and Separations

Attachments and Separations was the title given to a new and ongoing series of paintings by Chris Jennings  which were  also the focus of the artist’s first solo exhibition since 2001. Like much of Jennings’ art produced over the past decade, this striking body of work was concerned with the artist’s fascination with relationships between line, colour and space and the representation of absence and presence.  However, where Jennings had previously used the illusionary power of colour and line to explore the dynamics of space both within and without paintings, this new series of works, in which canvases were  “conjoined and juxtaposed” and presented at an angle to the wall, brought to the fore a new sculptural element.

Although he described himself as a painter, Jennings had over the past four decades frequently ventured into working in other media, including photography, installation, text, music and films. Given that many of his initial ideas and concepts for paintings have over the years come from preparatory studies made as small wooden maquettes, to enable what he describes as  “an immediate and tactile handling of space”, it is perhaps inevitable that Jennings’ sometimes latent use of sculpture was married to his painting practice.

This exhibition also afforded audiences an opportunity to view Jennings’ most recent paintings alongside those produced during the past decade and to engage with elements of his all-important preparatory works. Jennings’ practice is as complex as it is measured and, its longevity speaks volumes for an artist who work possesses such a profound sense of commitment and integrity.

An llustrated colour brochure featuring a text by artist David Howells accompanied this exhibition [ISBN 978-1-899764-93-8].

Artist Biography

Chris Jennings was born in Buckinghamshire in1942. He studied at St Martins School of Art, London (1959– 61), St Albans School of Art (1961–63) and The Royal College of Art (1963– 66). In 2004, he received his PhD. from London Metropolitan University. His numerous group and solo exhibitions include: Boustrophedon,Trinity College of Music, London and Princeton University, USA, 1998; Rentree, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University, 1999; Box Project, Museum of Installation (and touring); Chris Jennings, Galerie Sapet, Mirmande, France; Rentree 2, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University, London, 2000; Retrospective/Selected works ‘Scrutiny and Immanence’, Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University, London, 2001. His monograph, ‘Scrutiny and Immanence: Selected Work of Chris Jennings’ with a text by Dore Ashton, was published in 2001.

His work has featured in two editions of the review La Part de l’Oeil published in Brussels: ‘Art et Phenomenologie’, 1991 and, ‘Wittgenstein et l’Aesthetique’, 1992. His works are held in various private collections in the UK, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium and Australia. His work is also included in the Arts Council England collection. His series of drawings, Meniscus, are held in the collection of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.