Public Space One is highlighting two Jamies in two very different art exhibitions along the Summer Gallery Walk

One unintended benefit of Iowa City’s Public Space One having multiple locations is that those locations can bookend the perfect route for an art gallery stroll. Which seems to be just one of the acts of serendipity occurring around this Friday’s 2024 Downtown Summer Gallery Walk.

Another coincidence? That participants can catch two different PS1 exhibition events led by artists named Jamie this weekend. Jamie Weinfurter will present her site-specific installation “building castles in the air,” at the Public Space One North Gilbert street location. And over at the PS1 Close House, Jamie Hudrlick will have an opening reception for “Double Bloom,” her exhibition series of large-scale paintings.

In honor of the synchronicity, LV talked via email with both Jamies about their exhibitions and what folks can expect to see if they add their spots to the full walk of participating exhibits.

Jamie Weinfurter on ‘building castles in the air’

This is your first solo exhibition outside of academia. Could you describe the significance? What would you say makes an exhibition outside of academia different?

Labeling this exhibition as my first solo exhibition outside of academia is important to me for two reasons: It’s my first solo exhibition after graduating with my MFA from the University of Iowa in May of 2024, and “building castles in the air” is my first solo exhibition not associated with a university (not in a university gallery or in a university-affiliated show).

I’ve wanted to work with PS1 since I first knew about the organization when I came to Iowa City in 2021. This exhibition is especially significant to me because I have been able to continue my research as a professional artist while also connecting with the amazing team at PS1 and building an exhibition that is more open and accessible to the public.

This exhibition is based on your life experience of receiving a Traumatic Brain Injury in 2019. How has this injury affected your art making these last few years? Is this the first time you’ve presented work based on this experience?

The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) I endured in 2019 changed a lot of aspects about myself and my artistic practice. Primarily, it’s now very difficult for me to see at night, my memory retention was affected, and I am unfortunately a lot more forgetful. I’ve just started to talk about how the TBI has affected me during my graduate studies, but the after-effects of the injury and my lifelong recovery will be the main focus of research for years to come.

In my work, I use strong light and shadows representing my loss of vision. Everyday objects are deconstructed and rebuilt as uncanny yet still familiar domestic objects similar to how I have reconstructed my memories, and the stiffened fabric and cast metal recreations of household items depict short-term and long-term memories that have been forgotten or treasured over time. Accepting and persevering with this trauma has been exceptionally important in my understanding of who I am after the TBI and how I can continue to move forward after the experience.

As a queer artist, my intimate, personal experiences are re-framed within the domestic space of “building castles in the air” to create a safe space for public sharing and healing from trauma. The new space I’ve created in the gallery celebrates a queer home space outside of American capitalistic systems of value to advocate for the necessity of community, discuss how we rebuild after life-changing events, and the importance of cherishing the “little things” in life.

Anything else you’d like for folks to know beforehand or think about when they come to the exhibition?

A fun thing I’ve noticed in the gallery is that the transparency of the recreated family photos in the windows of the first room changes depending on the time of day, making for a different experience, and something to look for in the morning, afternoon and evening. I’m also always interested in hearing about what everyone experiences when first walking into one of my immersive installation spaces, so please do leave a comment in the guest book.

Thank you all for visiting the exhibition and sharing that space with me!

Jamie Hudrlick talks Double Bloom

In a work-in-progress shot of Lost In the Flowers you said its 72″ by 32″ canvas was “a smaller size for me.” Can you describe your relationship with scale when it comes to your work? What draws you to a larger canvas?

I have always been drawn to large-scale paintings. I was inspired by Basquiat and his large-scale paintings in my early 20s. I took a painting class at SVA in New York City and the assignment was to imitate one of your favorite artists. I chose Basquiat because his paintings were so raw and expressive and his canvas size was large and life-sized. That was probably the first time I really painted that large and I was hooked.

Having such a large canvas gives me lots of freedom to paint and to move around and dance while I paint. I listen to loud music and just dive into my canvas. I use my hands to make marks onto the canvas and large paint brushes to create the movement and drips the paint makes when adding lots of water. I also love painting on my tippy toes and reaching for the most highest part of the canvas. The life-size canvas makes me feel like I’m inside the painting — it creates a world for me to jump into.

Again regarding Lost in the Flowers you mention, “Sometimes I go back and add more to a painting. Now I think she’s finished.” Could you talk more about your process for coming to a “conclusion” on a painting? I imagine it could potentially be tricky to understand when something is finished?

To me, when my painting feels finished, I feel happy. My painting feels resolve; the colors, composition and images feel complete, almost like a journal entry or story. I feel like I’ve expressed everything I wanted to within that piece. It’s an internal feeling I have. I kept looking at the painting Lost in the Flowers and knew it felt unresolved. For me, I needed to add more to the story of the girl, more emotion and color. The painting feels complete now and I feel happy.

This series featured a collaboration with your daughter. How did that come about?

Florence my 5-year-old daughter and I collaborated on the painting Bloom Girls. This piece won’t be in the show because it sold. The collaboration came about when I was out of town. I told her she could go to my studio with her dad and paint on the large blank canvas I had on my wall. She is an amazing artist and I knew she would enjoy to use Mama’s large canvas to paint on. I took pictures of what she did; it reminded me a lot of Basquiat. Her painting was so raw and playful.  She stamped her tiny hand prints onto the canvas and wrote her name in big letters and the words ‘I Love You’. Since the canvas was so high up she could only reach to a certain spot and the top half was left blank — she was on her tippy toes, too!

When I came back home I decided to paint onto the same canvas to create a piece around her mark-making and materials. Her uninhibited style influenced me as an artist and I was able to let myself go more. It was very inspiring. It was a beautiful experience for the both of us. She learned from me and I learned from her. We will definitely create more paintings together in the future.

Anything else you’d like for folks to know beforehand or think about when they come to the exhibition? 

During my reception I will have my art studio open for the public. People can come inside my studio and get an idea on how I work and what I like to use, etc. I will have finished paintings hung inside my studio as well.