Resilience and Reimagining: The Feminine Narratives of Jessica Damen" a solo exhibition of twenty-seven paintings is thoughtfully curated by Liz Faust, adjunct professor at MICA, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and former managing curator of Catalyst Contemporary Gallery. Please join us at this spacious gallery to experience, as Liz Faust writes,
“…(journey through) the mythic spaces of Artemis, Leda, and Ariadne. Jessica Damen's artistry breathes life into these figures, empowering them with the strength and agency they deserve. Through vivid colors and powerful strokes, Damen challenges traditional roles and narratives, asking viewers to reconsider their understanding of history and gender. Drawing from magic realism and Asian scrolls, Damen's reinterpretation of these figures highlights their resilience and reimagines their stories for a modern context. By engaging with these iconic myths, Damen sparks a dialogue about gender dynamics and the impact of historical narratives on the present.” (from Liz Faust curatorial statement)

Jessica Damen’s latest exhibition of 26 paintings accompanied with 25 poems expands her love of verse and visual imagery by letting the viewer see the paintings while listening to the inspiring poems from small speakers, which are replayed in a continuous loop.
Damen endeavored to interpret expressively the gestalt of a poem with her choice of colors, scale, and images. Damen considers that,
“…paintings and poems are like companions strolling along a path, each is distinct in their built and personality. Sometimes they share sights and insights and at other times, they diverge and re-interpret a thought, a mood, a story and a vision.”

Please link to this site for more detail information about individual artworks. The Baker Artist Portfolios were created to support artists and promote Greater Baltimore as a strong creative community.

Current Facebook cover page of Jessica Damen Fine Artist page features six of my sliver paintings. From left to right:Earth Falls Away, Strawberry Wreckage & Lilac Dust, Whole With Light in the Kent State Library, Wick Corner collection, Seeking and Running, No Memorials For This Lot, Artemis Rising, in a private collection.

A man recalls the death of an wandering eel. She was on her way home. This man, so close to death is also, seeking his home.
My painting is a homage to Maj Ragain, poet, friend and long-timed creative collaborator. I did this painting after reading the introduction of his last collection of poems.

Maj Ragain, Clouds Pile Up in the North – New & Selected Poems, Press 53: Winston-Salem, NC, 2017, p.xiv

Janet Lewis' poem Meadow Turf helped to inspire Lacing Life and Death. Here is a young boy, his lower torso embedded in the endlessly growing and dying meadow. Lewis' poem ends with these words:
"Leaves, living and dead, whose stealing
Odors on the cold bright air shed healing-
Oh, heart, here is your healing, here among
The fragrant living and dead."

Janet Lewis. Poems Old and New 1918-1978 Swallow Press, Ohio University Press, Chicago, IL, 1982 p. 32

Granny's fleeing garden spoke to me as a metaphor for the end of child rearing or the end of life. Time flies and the garden itself, with its beauty and demands, races away. Inspired by Lewis' poem Lost Garden there are two audio readings which, in my opinion, evoke different responses.
Janet Lewis. Poems Old and New 1918-1978. Swallow Press, Ohio University Press, Chicago, IL, 1982 p.20

I was inspired by Janet Lewis' poem,The Reader. One day I saw my youngest daughter totally lost to world in a book. She is floating in another universe. Ah, the magic of reading!

Janet Lewis. Poems Old and New 1918-1978. Swallow Press, Ohio University Press, Chicago, IL, 1982, p.23

A young woman sweeps the floor while the fragrant odor of lilac permeates her space. What is in her heart? Does her expression reveal some painful secret? This painting was inspired by Lewis' "Girl Help".

Janet Lewis. Poems Old and New 1918-1978. Swallow Press, Ohio University Press, Chicago, IL, 1982, p.21

"How recently they were golden-faced and young" those young boys, turned into "whacked out and wasted, hollowed at the core" men, veterans waiting. This poignant poem by Tim Joyce is a tribute to those who served and were forgotten.

Tim Joyce. Stone Mad, Poems by Tim Joyce, Murphy’s Law Press, Lee, MA, 2009. P 36