Duty Calls

Jen Smith

Duty Calls, 201055.88 x 38.1cmSign in to view price
Details
MaterialGallery
gouache on paperCommonwealth and Council
Description
Human-crafted. AI-refined.

The artwork features a bold, minimalist composition consisting of a dark oval silhouette against a plain white backdrop. The prominent focus is on the camouflage-patterned pants in shades of green, brown, and black, conveying a sense of concealment and military association. The artist employs a distinctive graphic style, using the camouflage motif to explore themes of identity, disguise, and the blending of the individual into the environment. This conceptual piece likely comments on the dehumanizing nature of modern warfare and the loss of individual agency within larger systems of power. ...

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Jen Smith
Artist
Jen Smith
American

Jen Smith is an artist, musician, zine editor and activist. Smith was heavily involved in the Riot Grrrl scene in Washington DC in the early 1990s, where she played in numerous punk bands and developed multiple feminist zines. Smith is actually credited with being the inspiration behind the term 'riot grrrl’, originally from a writing to her friend Allison Wolfe in 1991 that said “We need to start a girl RIOT” which catalysed the development of the movement. In her art practice, Smith works mostly with textiles, bringing together patchworks of linen, cotton, denim and silk. Continuing the activist strain, Smith will then sew political slogans or tongue and cheek phrases on top of these fabric collages, such as ‘We Make the Rules’, ‘Lonely Old Loser’, or ‘Lovers Often Languish’. By embodying that playful, disruptive character of her earlier zines and punk lyrics, these works trouble the comforting associations of quilting, and relocate its domestic associations into a discursive political arena. Smith’s candid use of juxtaposition links her work to artists such as Barbara Kruger and the posters of the Guerrilla Girls, while the merging of textiles with punk sensibility carves a distinct lane for Smith to experiment in. In many ways, her work uncovers the immense care and communion within activist circles. ...

Jen Smith: Artworks
LOL (Loud Outrageous Laughter)
Jen Smith
LOL (Loud Outrageous Laughter), 2014
223.52 x 223.52cm
LOL (Lovely Opulent Life)
Jen Smith
LOL (Lovely Opulent Life), 2014
223.52 x 223.52cm
LOL (Lonely Old Loser)
Jen Smith
LOL (Lonely Old Loser), 2014
228.6 x 228.6cm
LOL (Lovers Often Languish)
Jen Smith
LOL (Lovers Often Languish), 2014
238.76 x 238.76cm
WE MAKE THE RULES
Jen Smith
WE MAKE THE RULES, 2010
61 x 549cm
Pay Back Is A Bitch
Jen Smith
Pay Back Is A Bitch, 2011
44.45 x 762cm
Here, Always Elsewhere
Jen Smith
Here, Always Elsewhere, 2010
55.88 x 38.1cm
Duty Calls
Jen Smith
Duty Calls, 2010
55.88 x 38.1cm
Mission Accomplished I
II
& III
Jen Smith
Mission Accomplished I II & III, 2009
76.2 x 609.6cm
Commonwealth and Council
Gallery
Commonwealth and Council
Los Angeles, Mexico City

Commonwealth and Council is a gallery in Koreatown, Los Angeles founded in 2010. Our program is rooted in our commitment to explore how a community of artists can sustain our co-existence through generosity and hospitality. Commonwealth and Council celebrates our manifold identities and experiences through the shared dialogue of art—championing practices by women, queer, POC, and our ally artists to build counter-histories that reflect our individual and collective realities. ...

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