Upcoming Solo Exhibition with Jennifer Cronin

This summer, local Chicago artist Jennifer Cronin will be exhibiting her recent paintings in a solo show entitled "Wandering Around in a Small Place" at 119 N Peoria #3A in the West Loop. Elephant Room, Inc. is proud to be hosting the exhibition and R. Hanel Photography is graciously donating the space. The exhibition is 2 days only with an opening reception on Friday, July 8th 6:00pm - 9:00pm and additional viewing hours on Saturday, July 9th 12:00pm - 4:00pm.

Jennifer Cronin is known for her large scale, realistic self-portraits with surrealistic elements. "Wandering Around in a Small Place" takes this surrealist theme further into fantasy through Croninʼs use of setting and the subjectʼs playful, almost child-like interaction with other elements in time and space. “It is a re-imagining of everyday life, based on often small, seemingly inconsequential frustrations. These frustrations can be the growths of the seeds of worry, fear, amusement and minor upsets based on our daydreams while at home and at work. It is about what a mind does with what it is given.” - Cronin. Her self-portraits are less about the fact that they are self-portraits and more about the figure being a representation of all of us within both the realistic world and our personal world of fantasy.

The work from "Wandering Around in a Small Place" demonstrates Croninʼs fantastic ability to realistically paint the human form in a multitude of gestures while painting a realistic world of fantasy around her. Her painted interaction between these 2 worlds
feels effortless and natural, likely a result of her studies in both psychology and art. While each painting reveals her experiences of daydreaming, they simultaneously draw out our own experiences with daydreaming in our everyday life. Cronin has this uncanny ability to continuously paint her own portrait in a way that universally represents the viewer because of the commonalities of our experiences. This exhibition of Croninʼs latest work elevates her art to the next level as she continues to establish her own niche in the art world.