In the ’70s, when Neil Jenney’s art was included in an exhibit called “Bad Paintings,” the title wasn’t a condemnation but rather the opposite: an acknowledgement that Jenney was not following traditional rules or prevailing trends. While the art world was immersed in photo realism, he was hammering out rough, textured acrylics. While others did minimalism, he filled canvases with vibrant color and often tongue-in-cheek or symbolic subjects.
An exhibit of 24 of Jenney’s paintings is up now at New Britain Museum of American Art. The show includes samples of both his “bad art” and his subsequent switch into “good art,” characterized by precise depictions of natural imagery inspired by the Luminist and Hudson River School artists. The retrospective exhibit spans about 50 years in the career of the Torrington-born painter.
Both styles let Jenney comment on the environmental devastation wrought by humans. His “bad” Saw & Sawed,” showing the results of a logging, hangs next to his “good” “North American Acidified,” a meticulously rendered view of a river, whose water is, presumably, polluted. “Bad” “Forest and Lumber” shows a clear-cut forest, near the “good” “North American Divided,” which shows a cut-down tree.
Jenney has more fun with “bad art,” though. As the artworks scoff at convention, the subject matter scoffs in general. In “Media and Man,” a man sits in a chair watching TV. “Schmuck and Schlemeil” is a hilarious image of a man whose grocery bag has broken, and another man who laughs at him. “Pump and Pumper” tells a simple story of a man walking away from a water pump holding two buckets.
NEIL JENNEY: AMERICAN REALIST is at New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St., until March 17, 2019. nbmaa.org.
On other walls
Simsbury Open Studios Fine Art Show will be at The Simsbury Free Library, 749 Hopmeadow St., on Nov. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The artists are Lori Racicot-Burrous, Grace Epstein, Deborah Leonard, Jacie Jakubowski, Karyn Sweezy, Rita Bond and Renee S. Hughes. simsburyfreelibrary.org.
Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. in Hartford, presents paintings, etchings, and pastels by the late Robert Neiditz of Avon from Nov. 15 (reception 6 to 8 p.m.) to Dec. 21. charteroakcenter.org.
Gallery on the Green, on the town green in Canton, will show work by Svetlana Shorey from Nov. 15 to Dec. 16. In the same time frame, the gallery will present “Six Women Painting,” with work by Anne Merriam, Rosemary Cotnoir, Kathleen DeMeo, Donna Favreau, Elin Dolle and Claudia Van Nes. The opening reception is Nov. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. galleryonthegreen.org.
Melanie Carr Gallery, 1 N. Main St. in Essex, presents “Points of Departure: Color / Form / Material,” an exhibit of work by Elizabeth Gourlay, Pat Smith and Dina Varano, from Nov. 17, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m., through Dec. 31. melaniecarrgallery.com.
“Visions,” a show of work by Nathan Lewis, is at Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery, 96 Bedford St. in Stamford, starting Nov. 17, opening with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. alvarezgallery.com.
