An Artist You Should Know: Jack Penny
Driven by capturing a real sense of humanity within his work it is no wonder blue collar workers like chefs and waiters are the prominent features of a Jack Penny pieces.
With an abstract approach to figurative paintings, Penny transforms the 9-5 hustle into a beautiful work of art. Informed and inspired by a lifetime skating, as well as a stint in the big smoke of London, the debauchery found in Penny’s work could be interpreted as an extension of that - but what do we know? We spoke with the artist first hand to find out.
Photo: Louis Toledo
Hey Jack - give us a spiel on who you are, what you do, where you live?
Hi Sam, I am a painter. My paintings are seemingly on the nose, tracking down the missing laugher until the audience is laughing at them self’s. I currently live on the south coast of England which is soon to change as my family and I are moving to France in a few months.
How would you personally describe your art?
I’m quite traditional with my materials using oil on canvas of various sizes but I am most comfortable working at the largest size possible although that is not always practical. I like my whole body to be in motion when drawing a line in or putting a stroke of paint down, it feels more action orientated. I occasionally venture into sculpture, often using reclaimed wood which seems a fitting material for my raw unpolished figurative paintings.
Describing my work has always been a difficult task for me. Maybe this come from being extremely dyslexic or maybe the unwillingness to box it in or tell the audience what exactly it’s about. I like a bit of mystery. When I am painting, it’s the only place I’ve ever felt real freedom, an addictive kind of freedom. Like a lot of artists, my work is a way of digesting the world but not in a self-documental way. My work can be provocative and precise as well as purposely ambiguous. I don’t think I would be painting the way I paint if it wasn’t for the Time I live in. Over the last few years, I have adopted a stand of playfulness in my work and my latest work feels a little like a joke without a punch line. That is the best way I can describe it.
When I’m painting it is a space for the child in me for lack of a better analogy who is unreasonable and generally anti-establishment. A hater of the arbitrary rules. Then there is also the adult in me who is much more reserved and is obsessed with understanding the theory of painting and what makes a painting successful. In the process of discovering a painting, it’s a push and pull relationship between the two. It’s not often that I make a painting that pleases them both.
Art photos: Jonny Clark
What is it that draws you to dining tables and chefs particularly?
The table paintings, they lend themselves to something ceremonious that we can all relate to. Breaking bread with people is enjoyed throughout all cultures, all around the world. We all look forward to sitting down with friends or family so I believe people lean towards these paintings for what they represent. It’s a multi-lead concept which brings an ambiguous but Familiarity that seams liveable and approachable on the surface in the room that it’s occupying as its final resting place but its fully loaded.
I love uniforms and I use them as tools. I believe that once one wears their uniform, they become less accountable and the individual loses their identity. It takes the painting away from the individuals. They become a symbol (Waiters, Chefs, Soldiers, Nurses, Police Officers). Separating themselves from their surroundings. It’s a language for me to engage in topics without having to be contrived or direct.
Art photos: Jonny Clark
Speaking of dining - what are you ordering for the table?
I love seafood but my wife is deadly allergic and naturally I am often eating out with her which has put a tremendous strain on are relationship. I think I am having second thoughts! Joke aside, I usually ask the waiter to tell me the top picks. I am invited to nice restaurants frequently as some of my work is food related which I definitely take advantage of.
What grew your confidence as an artist?
Naivety can be a powerful thing. I was very confident when I started out because I knew so little about the artworld and art in general. It felt to me that I had a real identity from the get go. Now, I look back I cringe a bit but in a way envy that confidence I had. Now I am confident in a different way, because of the years of work I have put in.
What draws you to depicting the hustle of city life? And also what repels you about it?
I am not a massive fan of people on mass, the feeling it gives me. I am not really sure what it is but that’s what drew me to do a series on it called Commuters. It’s also the thing that repels me.
Art photos: Jonny Clark
Are you a city person yourself?
I am a countryside person through and through. Yet, I need cities at arm’s length. They remind me why I love space and the countryside. As I mentioned I am about to move even further into the French countryside, with my family, to live on a farm so we can grow our own food and become more self-sustaining. This said, I have made sure that Paris is not too far so that when my children are older, it’s easy for them to get to. I don’t want to rob them of what a city can provide culturally.
Are you someone who listens to music when you create - and if so, what’s on the playlist?
Yes, all the time in fact. It helps me to be slightly distracted when I am working. Whilst painting, I listen to all sorts of genres.
Where was your first ever exhibition and how do you think you’ve grown as an artist since?
My friend Hugo Hamper-Potts and I rented spaces together over a 5 year-span in London. It was difficult to get any attention but that’s the nature of the art world. The art world can be very closed off, especially if you have not having studied at university. So, we went around it in our own way by renting spaces and putting our own shows on for years. Since then, my work has changed. My inspiration has changed. But the feeling I get when I paint has remained the same. My understanding of art and who I am as an artist has changed greatly and continues to change.
You skate a lot too, do you think there’s any crossover between skateboarding and art? Do you think it’s had an influence at all?
I have been skateboarding since I was twelve and it was fully encompassing. It introduced me to music and art. Artists within the skateboarding world were my first art related interactions. I was heavily influenced by Fos who runs Heroin Skateboards. He was such a creative force when I started. And obviously, people like Mark Gonzales, Ed Templeton etc.. had an influence on me. Most importantly, it introduced me to other skateboarders who on the hole are a creative bunch of misfits. One other reason I was drawn to skateboarding was because it was a very self-taught and self-expressed activity. I had one particular friend Sam Bailey, who was older than myself and was integral to my exposure to a lot of music and art when I was really young. I definitely wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for skateboarding.
Photos: Sam Bailey
Where are you hoping your art will take you - if anywhere?
It’s taken me so many places I wouldn’t have gone already but I would love to make a show location based in the wild somewhere. At the moment I am really interested in explores in the 20th century so doing a show based off this idea in the amazon jungle or something like that I would be interested in.
Do you think art has the power to change the world?
Absolutely. It has the power to make people question themselves and their peers. Art should be a mean to make sense of the world that surrounds us. Art isn’t meant to just be pleasing or pretty. It’s meant to challenge ideas. And it’s only when challenged we can grow.