The Jenni Crain Foundation

Jenni Crain (1991–2021) was an esteemed artist and curator who passed away suddenly due to complications related to Covid-19. She was widely recognized for her original minimalist sculpture and curatorial projects that championed under-recognized women artists as well as for her rigorous scholarship and writing. Crain was a passionate and tireless advocate of artists and art. Throughout her life, she built a vast community of friends, collaborators, and colleagues whose work she drove forward with generosity, sensitivity, and the deep probing intelligence with which she considered the world.

The Foundation preserves her legacy by supporting transformative projects by artists, curators, and writers of any age at early or pivotal stages of their career.

In honor of her memory, The Jenni Crain Foundation provides grants in two areas:
1. Finishing funds toward the completion of a significant project ranging from an exhibition, arts publication, or work of art across disciplines and forms.
2. Support for original research which may include travel, accommodation, and any funds required for accessing or studying materials.

Donations may be mailed to the address below or made online by clicking here.

A fundraising bandana featuring Crain’s work may be purchased by clicking here. An image of the bandana can be viewed by clicking here.

The Jenni Crain Foundation
130 Third Avenue Brentwood, NY 11717
info@JenniCrainFoundation.org

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Jenni Crain

putting itself together
Co-curated w. Lydia Glenn-Murray
Chicken Coop Contemporary, Portland, OR
Justin Caguiat, Indah Datau, Phil Davis, Sara Malpass
August 5 – September 8, 2018

the comedy of being
putting itself together

The exhibition initially stemmed from the chicken or the egg mythology and human fascination/inclination to categorize/define origin. We’ve been discussing the evolution of personal identities via the inheritance of imagined or altered histories and beliefs.

Justin Caguiat (b. 1990, Tokyo) lives and works in NYC. Caguiat recently participated in projects at The Loon, Toronto; ‘Löwenbräu lebt’, Kunsthalle Zürich; and The Sunroom, Richmond, VA. He recently released a book of poems, 'A RAT, A DOG, A BOY', published by Codette, and has a forthcoming tape being released by ETCH

Indah Datau (b. 1984, Los Angeles) grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Datau studied art at UCLA and is pursuing her MFA at Calarts in the Film/Video program. Her paintings and films have been exhibited at Arturo Bandini, Los Angeles; Chins Push, Los Angeles; Reef Downtown, Los Angeles; and has also been published in New American Paintings. She continues to live in Los Angeles taking long walks with her dog Genesis.

Phil Davis (b. 1988, Pasadena) received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2012. Solo exhibitions include those at Phil Gallery, Los Angeles; Night Gallery, Los Angeles; and the Mountain View Mortuary, Altadena, CA; among others. His work has been included in group exhibitions at Rachel Uffner, New York; Ms. Barber's, Los Angeles; and in Nara, Tokyo; among others. In 2015 he ran Blood Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, with Philippe de Sablet and Lydia Glenn-Murray.

Sara Malpass’ (b. 1967) works, particularly the daily lists on notebook paper, isolate an exploration of written language in visual art that is uncommon in that of mainstream contemporary artists, but prominent in the works of so-called ‘outsiders’. Her reductive, pragmatic language most often culls words from her current reading material or immediate interests, her piles of lists culminating as a living personal archive central to her prolific creative practice. Her work has recently been included in exhibitions at NIAD Art Center, Richmond, CA; Walnut Creek Community Center, CA; Alliant University, San Francisco; and SFO Airport Museum, San Francisco; among others.

This is the third exhibition that Jenni Crain and Lydia Glenn-Murray have curated together. Previous exhibitions include February at Roberta Pelan in Toronto (2017) and A Sieve Itself May Sieve at Shanaynay in Paris (2016).

01-Gallery view-outside-Jenni Crain
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Indah Datau Poison on the Wind, 2016. Video duration: 02:30

09A-Phil Davis-Jenni Crain-CCC

Phil Davis Dogon’s Prayer, 2015. Oil on canvas.

10A-Sara Malpass-Jenni Crain

Sara Malpass. Ink on paper. 8 1/2 x 11 inches