• Kate Javens: Good Neighbor

    26 April - 25 May, 2024
    OPENING RECEPTION | FRIDAY APRIL 26 | 6-9 PM 'This show is a celebration of the people around you who...

    OPENING RECEPTION | FRIDAY APRIL 26 | 6-9 PM

    "This show is a celebration of the people around you who save your life everyday- the people who show up, who you trust, who live lives of service....and frankly, it's all of us."

    --Kate Javens, 2024

     

    Marcia Wood Gallery is thrilled to present the first body of work by Kate Javens of human portraits, entitled Good Neighbor.

     

    In 2008 Kate Javens moved to New York City's 127th St and joined the neighborhood's historic community garden, The Reverend Linnette C. Williamson Memorial Park Association, which in 1965 established the first "vest-pocket" park in the city. These parks, often found nestled between brownstones or politely sprawling on a corner block, revolutionized urban space. They have gained recognition for not only transforming their small spaces but also for reclaiming them to serve the needs of neighborhood communities. This body of work represents the good people who come through for their upper Manhattan community, rain or shine, year after year. They are faithful stewards of the shared gardens, growing food and flowers and providing a respite of beauty and tranquility in the middle of a bustling city. They also support a score of additional services to aid their neighborhood, selflessly giving their time, muscle and joy.

     

    Painted here are the leaders with whom Javens has worked most closely over her 15 years of service and community, as well as several children who grew up in the gardens. Participation in Javens's project is another act of their generosity. Javens's ongoing Good Neighbor series will ultimately honor the more than fifty families of volunteers whose lives are intertwined and uplifted through their acts of service.  

     

    Javens is known for her compelling portraits of animals chosen to represent figures in American history who represent an altruism and social activism that deserve to be commemorated. This exhibition presents eight breathtaking large scale portraits of people.

    Kate Javens’s paintings in oil are extraordinary both for the beauty of her brushstroke as well as for their passionate moral intensity. In a painting style that synthesizes an Old Masters clarity of light with a basis in American naturalism and realism, Javens connects with the viewer by an empathy to her subjects. 

     

    ABOUT THE REVEREND LINNETTE C.WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL PARK ASSOCIATION: 

    Reverend Linnette C. Williamson led the Christ Community Church of Harlem on 128th St. for decades. One of her many accomplishments was convincing the City of New York to give city park status to the abandoned lot next to her church. In 1965, this small piece of land sparked a revolution in the use of urban space, becoming the first "vest-pocket" park in New York City. 

     

    The Park Association's all-volunteer membership continues to steward this historic space, and it now includes four properties, urban farming, caring for open green space, and supporting a shelter for families who have been victims of domestic violence. We also raise money to aid in the upgrade of libraries in our neighborhood schools, and continue to support the charitable work of the Rev's original Christ Community Church Harlem.

     

    KATE JAVENS was born in Missouri and spent her childhood in Japan, Mexico, and the bicoastal United States.  She attended the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Javens is a Golden Foundation Residency Fellow, a three-time MacDowell Fellow, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Painting Fellow, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts Disciplinary Winner in Painting.  Her works are held in private and public collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art at the Pennsylvania State University, the Telfair Museum of Art, the Blanden Art Museum, and the Connecticut College Print Collection.  A monograph, Kate Javens, American Beasts, was published by the Blanden Museum and distributed by D.A.P..  Kate Javens lives and works in New York City.

     

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  • Works in Good Neighbor April 26 - May 25, 2024
    • Kate Javens Roberta F., 2024 oil on canvas 60 x 48 inches
      Kate Javens
      Roberta F., 2024
      oil on canvas
      60 x 48 inches
    • Kate Javens S. L., 2024 oil on canvas 60 x 48 inches
      Kate Javens
      S. L., 2024
      oil on canvas
      60 x 48 inches
    • Kate Javens Lusia M., 2024 oil on canvas 60 x 48 inches
      Kate Javens
      Lusia M., 2024
      oil on canvas
      60 x 48 inches
    • Kate Javens Regina H., 2024 oil on canvas 60 x 48 inches
      Kate Javens
      Regina H., 2024
      oil on canvas
      60 x 48 inches
  • Works
    • Kate Javens horse painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Untitled, 2019
      oil on theatre muslin
      66 x 106 inches
    • Kate Javens rabbit painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, the Rabbit, 2015
      oil on birch panel
      18 x 24 inches
    • Kate Javens lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, the Lamb, for the Rev, 2015
      oil on linen
      40 x 30 inches
    • Kate Javens goat painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, the Goat, 2015
      oil on wood panel
      16 x 12 inches
    • Kate Javens fish painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, the Fish, 2015
      oil on wood panel
      20 x 14 inches
    • Kate Javens elephant painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, the Elephant, 2015
      oil on wood panel
      16 x 12 inches
    • Kate Javens bear painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep with, the Bear, 2015
      oil on theater muslin
      66 x 106 inches
    • Kate Javens lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep with, No. 3, for the Rev, 2015
      oil on wood panel
      18 x 24 inches
    • Kate Javens horse painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Animals I Sleep With, No. 1, for Liz, 2015
      oil on theater muslin
      66 x 106 inches
    • Kate Javens yellow wolf painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Yellow Wolf, 2011
      oil on linen on panel
      11 x 14 inches
    • Kate Javens wolf painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Wolf, 2011
      oil on archival composite panel
      16 x 20 inches
    • Kate Javens lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      The Lamb, 2011
      oil on archival composite panel
      16 x 20 inches
    • Kate Javens red wolf painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Red Wolf, 2011
      oil on hardwood panel
      16 x 16 inches
    • Kate Javens red lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Red Lamb, 2011
      oil on linen on panel
      11 x 14 inches
    • Kate Javens pink lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Pink Lamb, 2011
      oil on linen on panel
      10 x 10 inches
    • Kate Javens dog wolf painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Lucky, 2011
      oil on linen on panel
      10 x 10 inches
    • Kate Javens wolves lamb painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      For the Wolves, the Lambs, and the Rev, 2011
      oil on theater muslin
      66 x 106 inches
    • Kate Javens Blue Wolf, 2011 oil on hard wood panel 16 x 16 inches
      Kate Javens
      Blue Wolf, 2011
      oil on hard wood panel
      16 x 16 inches
    • Kate Javens ram painter animal Marcia Wood Gallery oil painting
      Kate Javens
      Father Ram 2, 2007
      oil on linen
      9 x 10 inches
  • Biography

    Kate Javens was born in Missouri and spent her childhood in Japan, Mexico, and the bicoastal United States. She attended...
    Photo by Franklin Einspruch at The Golden Foundation for the Arts, 2016

    Kate Javens was born in Missouri and spent her childhood in Japan, Mexico, and the bicoastal United States.  She attended the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Javens is a Golden Foundation Residency Fellow, a three-time MacDowell Fellow, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Painting Fellow, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts Disciplinary Winner in Painting.  Her works are held in private and public collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art at the Pennsylvania State University, the Telfair Museum of Art, the Blanden Art Museum, and the Connecticut College Print Collection.  A monograph, Kate Javens, American Beasts, was published by the Blanden Museum and distributed by D.A.P..  Kate Javens lives and works in New York City.

     

    Kate Javen’s paintings in oil are stunning both for the breathtaking beauty of her brushstroke as well as for their passionate moral intensity. In a painting style that synthesizes an Old Masters clarity of light with a basis in American naturalism and realism, Javens connects with the viewer by an empathy to her subjects – paintings of animals that are named for, and in fact stand as metaphorical portraits of, figures in American history; persons who represent to Javens an altruism and social activism that deserve to be commemorated.The animal subjects of Javens’ paintings embody to her the inner qualities and essence of the human historical figures that she honors, suggesting that it is not so much the image, but rather the quality of these persons for which they should be remembered.

     

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