Fantastical Compositions: The Art Portfolio of Jane Zednik
Spring Surge, oil paint on heavy archival paper
Jane Zednik uses her artistic practice to explore different techniques, forms, and applications of oil paint, building fantastical compositions that use a variety of textures and colour palettes. Many of the artist’s works feature animals, sometimes in everyday settings and sometimes in more dreamlike, mythological applications.
Winter Chat Room, oil paint on heavy archival paper
I really enjoy the way Jane explores the possibilities of composition in her artworks. The artist tends toward large, flat planes of colour and pattern, building indoor and outdoor scenes in layers that suggest a collage aesthetic. Objects in these paintings seem to sit directly on top of one another, deliberately devoid of volume or depth, making the overall aesthetic of these works feel pleasantly uncanny.
The artist lives in Port Hope, Ontario with fellow painter Harry Stooshinoff, and several cats -- it seems fitting that many of Jane’s paintings feature cats as central figures. I like the balance in these works between realistic detail and a stylized approach, with the artist emphasizing both observational skill and an exuberance for the pure act of painting.
