ARTIST STATEMENT
There’s been an underlying and yet overwhelming blanket of grief, fear and sadness amongst us all. We’re traumatized by the last few years. All of the stress, anxiety, isolation, censorship, fear, illness and death. We are forever altered and cannot return to the way it was. At times, it has all felt surreal to me. Almost like an alternate world, where life is fractioned and dream-like. Rather than trying to suppress these feelings and ignore them, I’ve chosen to paint them. The surreal – melancholy, colorful and lucid. And the fractal – broken, mirror-like and self-reflecting. By painting my emotions, my heart can begin to heal. By displaying my paintings, I regain that missing connection with other people. Whether viewed individually or as a group, we are all a work of art.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
“Jannette Parent was born in Sacramento, California and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon. She is a 1991 graduate of Commercial Art at the Pacific NW College of Art & Design. After meeting her husband in Hawaii, she bounced around the country as a military spouse, landing in Princeton Kentucky in 2004. There, she established herself as a freelance artist and instructor, sampling several styles and many kinds of media. For the past 18 years, a personal passion of Jannette’s has been using the Cherokee Language in her contemporary artwork to help preserve the language, culture and stories that she has learned. Throughout Jannette’s work you will find a common theme of saturated color and dynamic contrast.
Jannette Parent has been awarded several local and regional honors, including the National Daughters of the American Revolution Women in the Arts Recognition Award in 2016 and having two pieces of art selected to tour with Kentucky Arts Council’s Native Reflections Exhibit from 2020 -2022.”
© Jannette Parent