Jenna Westra – Thread Song

We are happy to announce Thread Song by New York based artist Jenna Westra, her third solo show at the gallery.

When gallerist Anne Schwarz spoke of a red thread running through Jenna Westra’s new body of work, Westra thought of the words Thread Song, and they stuck to her mind as the show’s title. Without a direct English equivalent, the ‘red thread’ stems from the German idiom ‘ein roter Faden’, describing an underlying theme, a core motif, a recurring aspect leading the way.

Subtle meanings or sound qualities can get lost in translation, while at the same time, new ones are created. In this case; the homophone ‘red’ and the rhyme of the two English words – ‘red thread’ – give a poetic, lyrical tone to the expression. A similar tone weaves through Westra’s visual language, too. She makes compositional rhythms out of female forms, framing them in feminist histories and present-day femenine solidarities. Her pictures transmit female strength, energy, and softness.