BIO
Jean Kondo Weigl was born in Berkeley, California, and earned a BA in art from Scripps College, an MA in studio art from Oberlin College, and an MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Utah. Weigl’s work has been shown in museums such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Art, and the Chrysler Museum, as well as at galleries in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. Previously, she has taught at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Old Dominion University, Pennsylvania State University, Lorain County Community College, and Oberlin College. She currently lives in Oberlin with her family, and teaches classes for adults at FAVA.
Artist’s Statement
My work is about a balance between formal and pictorial elements and the depiction of narratives that combine memory, dream, allegory, authenticity and truth. The archaic character of the traveler plays a central role in my recent paintings, appearing in the form of human and animal figures who interact in relationships and settings that contain a sense of whimsy as well as a feeling of tension or sadness. As travelers, the human and animal characters represent immigrants and fugitives, and the contrast between civilization and the natural order. With imagery ranging from litters, boats, vast bodies of water and distant mountains or cityscapes on the horizon, to stage curtains, theatrical costumes, statues of deities and ancient temples, the paintings portray scenes from the floating world of the traveler- entertainer, far removed from the familiarity of ordinary, everyday life, yet drawn close to the viewer by the color and rhythm of the shapes and marks made by the paint on the surface of the art work. My abiding influences include my Japanese-American identity rooted during the post-war era in the San Francisco Bay Area, my entire education and the extraordinary experiences of my parents, husband, son and daughter.