Local Seattle visual artist George Jennings’ latest collection of work “The Women, The Paper, and The Light” is a tribute to his Black family’s history and the importance of featuring Black women and Black girls in the arts. Using his blend of traditional and contemporary styles, Jennings, uses his work to push back on outdated narratives of who belongs in fine art with the collection featuring large-scale portraits, intentionally centering, celebrating, and honoring Black women and Black girls.
This multilayered exhibit also serves as a continuation of George’s family’s visual art legacy, including two collages dedicated to displaying and honoring the work of his grandfather (and his first art teacher), the late, John N. Robinson. Visitors will be able to experience the rich history of Black representation in fine art across generations.
Having recently expanded his art practice to include modern, digital tools, the screen is now his canvas and a digital pencil is his brush.
Viewers of this work will go on a journey where dignity, beauty, and grace serve as not only a powerful counter-narrative but also as a vital part of Black history, Black presence, and Black future.
BIOGRAPHY
George Jennings, a fine art painter, is best known for his portraits of subjects who are not commonly centered in mainstream art with a focus on the diverse beauty of women.
His grandfather, the late visual artist, John N. Robinson, was his first art instructor while George later attended and is now an alum of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. After his cross-country move to Washington State (in 1997), George, with the help of his wife/manager, has had an art career filled with group and solo exhibitions, various presentations, and guest art instructor opportunities throughout Greater Seattle. George also produced a line of commercial products that have been sold in dozens of retail spaces throughout the country.
Initially, he created his paintings using oil and acrylic, then more recently he has transitioned to incorporating modern tools. His canvas is now is screen, and his brush a digital pencil.
MY FIRST ART INSTRUCTOR
This exhibit is not just a personal project but part of an ongoing family legacy.
My artistic journey began under the guidance of my grandfather, John N. Robinson (1912-1994), a respected artist who introduced fine art to the family and who was my first art teacher.
Robinson's work, which includes portraits of family members and community figures, serves as one of my biggest sources of inspiration as Robinson has had his work exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute, The Birmingham Museum of Art, MoMA, and several other places throughout the country and around the world.
Growing up, I spent a significant amount of time at my grandfather’s home where I was surrounded by not only the paintings that Robinson created of our entire family but I was deeply influenced by the paintings that my grandfather created of my grandmother, Robinson’s wife, Gladys (who I was extremely close to until her death at the age of 99 in 2016). I have also created many paintings of my wife, NaKeesa, who I lovingly featured in my work for the better part of 25 years.
This exhibit, The Woman, The Paper, and The Light, features my original works and two collages that I created to display a selection of my grandfather's paintings, allowing visitors to experience the rich history of Black representation in fine art across generations.
- George Jennings
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