Portrait by Matthew Spiegelman
Jennifer Sullivan (b. 1978, New York) creates expressionistic, character-driven paintings that explore personal narratives with a diaristic sensibility, mapping an ever-evolving inner life. Drawing on borrowed plot-lines and protagonists from film, music, and other forms, as well as her own life experiences, her work weaves intimate feeling with shared cultural references. Over the years, her storytelling has taken various forms, from autobiographical performance and video art to her current focus on painting, drawing, monotype printmaking, and hand-painted t-shirts. Based in Ridgewood, Queens, Sullivan holds an MFA in Fine Art from Parsons School of Design and a BFA from Pratt Institute. Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include The Tenderness (with Raychael Stine, Emma Gray HQ, 2024) and Sleeper (Turn Gallery, 2021). She has participated in group exhibitions at NADA Miami, Peter Blum Gallery, Marinaro, Klaus Von Nichtsaggend, and the deCordova Museum. Awards include fellowships with Paint School at Shandaken Projects (2020) and the Fine Arts Work Center (2012–13), as well as residencies at The Lighthouse Works, the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, the Ox-Bow School of Art, and Yaddo. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Brooklyn Rail.
Email: jennifer@jennifersullivan.org
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