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KAREN JILLY AT MESA<br />
CONTEMPORARY ARTS<br />
By Amy L. Young<br />
Alternative Beauty: The Work of Karen Jilly at Mesa<br />
Contemporary Arts Museum is a 25-year survey of<br />
the artist’s career, including paintings, drawings and<br />
prints. Jilly was a 2016 proposal winner, selected by<br />
the museum’s curatorial staff, who generally approve<br />
two to three proposals annually.<br />
Jilly was born in Los Angeles and relocated to<br />
Arizona in 1994, after doing some graduate studies<br />
in Long Beach. She divides her time between the two<br />
states (Paradise Valley here in Arizona), and her art<br />
has a significant presence in both. It is held in various<br />
public collections, including Scottsdale Museum<br />
of Contemporary Art, Arizona State University Art<br />
Museum, and the Janet Turner Print Museum at<br />
California State University in Chico. Private and<br />
corporate collectors also fill out Jilly’s resume.<br />
The urban landscape is a dominant subject in Jilly’s<br />
work. Her pieces are filled with scaffolding, power<br />
lines, telephone poles and traffic signals. For her,<br />
these elements of urban life mirror the human journey.<br />
Through this type of architecture, she shows the depth<br />
and complexity of life and survival, and does it with an<br />
intricate hand. In “Footnote Power Tool Engraved,” a<br />
monotype from 2002, a bridge structure is shown from<br />
below. Composed of numerous fine lines, it emphasizes<br />
not only the intense amount of planning and thought<br />
that such a structure needs, but also the work it takes<br />
to bring it to fruition.<br />
Jilly’s palette is often dark, and in this artist’s work<br />
that is more inviting than alienating. It lends sincerity<br />
and adds an undeniable power. Her deep colors<br />
unite with her line work—from fine and cutting to<br />
broad and chaotic—to give each object significant<br />
presence. Not only do we see one overall area in an<br />
urban landscape, we become very aware of its many<br />
pieces and attributes. But it doesn’t stop there. That<br />
particular mix of color and style allows us to see<br />
and feel the mood of the work. As Jilly brings these<br />
landscapes to life, she lets the viewer know that they<br />
are simultaneously delicate and tenacious, and she<br />
creates motion to show how time and space are fluid.<br />
“Looking for the Golden Sun,” an acrylic on wood<br />
painting from 2016, is a stark vision of train tracks,<br />
stoplights and wires. It is cloudy, twisty and winding,<br />
with a perspective that nods to the infinite. The piece<br />
sneaks in a sense of hope with a bit of sunshine that<br />
forces its way through the gray.<br />
The museum’s chief curator, Patty Haberman,<br />
appreciates how Jilly creates works that serve as<br />
metaphors for life’s journey. “What could be dark and<br />
moody,” Haberman said, “are, in these large-scale<br />
works, symbols of rebirth, growth and new beginnings—<br />
universal themes that resonate with all of us.”<br />
Alternative Beauty<br />
Through March 19<br />
Artist’s reception on February 10, with musical<br />
entertainment, refreshments and cash bar.<br />
Mesa Contemporary Arts<br />
1 E. Main St., Mesa<br />
www.mesaartscenter.com<br />
Karen Jilly, Looking For The Golden Sun, 2016, Acrylic and varnish on<br />
wood panel, 42 x 48 inches.<br />
Karen Jilly, River’s Study, 2016, Oil on panel, 16 x 12 inches.<br />
JAVA 17<br />
MAGAZINE
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