Seth Jennemann

Seth Jennemann (also known as MEFREEK) is a conceptual figurative painter who has exhibited in the United States and runs his own studio gallery dedicated to his work located on Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well as exhibited at other locations such as the Living Arts Museum. Seth elaborates on his process: ”Though the subjects are imagined, I create them with the precision and presence of traditional portraiture. The process is controlled, deliberate, and slow, aimed at making fiction feel convincingly alive. I create a fictional narrative for the subject before I paint, a story that informs the mood, pose, or palette from the outset. Other times, the narrative reveals itself during or after the painting process, as the character starts to feel more real. In both cases, the story becomes part of the final work”.

Narrative-rich and theatrical, Seth Jennemann’s vivid paintings convey themes such as Western grit, science fiction, Americana, and tribal inclinations. His subjects appear as if presented with props by a set designer or dressed in wardrobes orchestrated by a theatre director as these grand compositions, with their crisp, clear, and polished surfaces, express absurd, grand spectacles of figurative presentation. From a red buffalo consumed by flowers to young girls in cowboy hats with Western outfits amidst monochromatic colorful pop-induced backdrops, Seth Jennemann conveys his subjects with a sense of dignity and grand posture.

The paintings are not simply paintings as there remains elements which are deeply integrated with other artistic forms and practices such as attributes of performance and fashion. His young female figures appear as if they could be from a photographer’s studio with their dramatic poses and angular-slim body-types. However, the figures in his paintings seem to be acting out a performance, whether being infused with cyborg elements, Western posture, or tribal inclinations, Seth reveals the dramatic narrative hidden within the frozen moment of his paintings, with their polished execution and high production values. His characters bask in their own sense of confidence and glowing aura of glory, based on their assigned narrative through set-design-like portrayals worthy of grand post-modern theatre.

Synthetic Sunset For A Lonely Rodeo (pictured above) depicts a young girl in cosmetic Western attire. The painting stands out for depicting a dichotomy as well as unity between pop art elements in contemporary art along with tradition of Western garb. She stands on the stage of a backdrop waiting for her cue as if she were an actor waiting for direction. The bright neon magenta, pinks as well as sky blue of the color schematic of the attire and backdrop reveals a lucid presentation of what would otherwise be a traditional presentation.

With a dynamic brush and experimental attitude, Seth Jennemann pushes the boundaries of painting beyond confines of two-dimensional surfaces and expressions and into realms of integrative-conceptual presentations which infuse aspects of performance, set design, light design, narrative, and lucid symbolism. His deep dream-like, polished realistic format represents his conceptual drive well as the photographic yet delicate surfaces reveal theatrical-inspired practices. Through an array of infusing varied subject matter, props, and figures full of mystique, Seth Jennemann composes his compositions in a manner to have the viewer investigate narratives which are only hinted at but never dictated.

https://mefreek.com