Jessi Rapp
My Work
In my work urban mayhem, boisterous laughter, and nostalgic innocence come together to delineate an abstract landscape stitched together by a mix of materials and approaches to mark making. Through images I try to reconcile for a fragmented colonized self, wherein manic social media visual consumption functions as a mirror. In art I insist to give form to this dissolution through kaleidoscopic gestural analysis and a revealing of deep-rooted awkwardness that keeps us censored even from ourselves. Finding stillness in the shadow of imminent menace within the process of painting and drawing I return to my childhood; Lisa Frank notebooks where unicorns might actually rule the earth.
Over the past few years I have been focused on abstraction. A journey inspired by a personal need to deconstruct my way of seeing and my approach to art making. I realized that my visual formation was heavily rooted in photographic language (photo, cinema, mass media) that my painting was limited. Through a decolonial lense I analyzed and confronted my artistic production largely leaving figurative representation behind and delving into abstraction in order to reveal/discover my authentic voice. My creative process is a mixture of gestural explosion and intense observation, always in search of rhythm and tension.
Biography
Born in San Diego, California (1985), Jessi studied an undergraduate degree in Painting at San Diego State University. Upon completing her degree and an important solo exhibition in Tijuana she moved south of the border in 2009 to learn Spanish and during that time explore feminist visual theory. After four years of living and producing in Tijuana Jessi moved to Mexico City for a Master's in Painting at the Antigua Academia de San Carlos in the FAD/UNAM where she recieved her degree in 2019. Her work in Mexico City has seen a great transformation from a figuritive focus to a completely abstract one.
She has completed residencies abroad in both Berlin and London and exhibited in the USA, Mexico, and Germany.
Curriculum Vitae
Individual Exhibitions:
2021 Luna. PRPG. CDMX, MX.
2020 DownSide_Up. FAIN. CDMX, MX.
2020 Gibberish: A Polychromous Elucidation. Galería Casa Equis. CDMX, MX.
2009 Abejas Muertas. Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura, I.M.A.C, Galería. Tijuana, MX.
2008 Shhhh. Private Art Gallery. San Diego, USA.
2006 My name is Johnny Wallace, not Freeman. Urban Grind Gallery. San Diego, USA.
Selection of Collective Exhibitions:
2022 12x12. Smythe-Mckee gallery. Curated by Sam Dupleisis. Philadelfia, USA.
2021 Bodega bodegón. Guadalajara 90210. GDL, MX.
2021 Taller Transversal y LCPA. Clavo Movimiento. CDMX, MX.
2020 Incendiarias. Pop-up Galería Casa Equis. CDMX, MX.
2020 Niño dios, Conjunto Cultural Tepalcaltlalpan. CDMX, MX.
2019 Exposicion temporal. Galería Casa Equis (Sala principal). CDMX, MX.
2019 Moloch en extinción. Galería Moloch. CDMX, MX.
2019 Iris-discentes: La sinfonía cromática de la mirada femenina. Conjunto Cultural Tepalcaltlalpan. CDMX, MX.
2018 Salón abierto de pintura. Ladrón Galería. CDMX, MX.
2016 Historias vivas: autorretratos y bitácoras personales. Universidad Tecnológico de Huajuapan. Huajuapan, OAX, MX.
2016 Pos Parto.Galería privada. CDMX, MX.
2013 Women’s History Month Exhibition.San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery. San Diego, USA.
2012 Zu Mir oder Zu Dir. Gallery Kunstraum Tapir. Berlin, DE.
2012 Estudio abierto. Takt Kunstprojektraum. Berlin, DE.
2011 Revolución Arte. Tijuana, MX.
2010 Prohibited Light. Voz Alta ArtGallery. San Diego, USA.
2010 Love no Love. Mixed Media Art Gallery. San Diego, USA.
Education:
2019 Maestría.Artes Visuales, Pintura, Posgrado de Artes y Diseño, UNAM. CDMX, MX.
2009 Licenciatura. Artes Aplicadas y Arte deCiencia con énfasis en Pintura y Grabado Distinción en Arte, SanDiego State University, USA.
Private Collection:
2020 Fundación VicenteFerrara AC y/o Centro de Capacitación CCAI. Monterrey, MX.
Interviews:
2020 La Línea Cultural,Gibberish Polychromous, Jessi Rapp. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7mp6RXleCn/
2020 Meow Mag, Protestas, Sueños, y Democracia: Las artistas de FAIN. https://meowmag.mx/protestas-suenos-y-democracia- las-artistas-de-fain/
Invited Artist:
2020 Artist talk and presentation of work: pictoric investigation. Invitation by, Mtro. Javier Anzures. PAD, UNAM. CDMX, MX.
2011 Artist talk and presentation of work: creative process and self portraiture. Invitation by, Mtra Griselda Rosas. UABC. Ensenada, BCN, MX.
Residency:
2012 Takt/Tapir Kunstprojektraum. Berlin, DE. Abril-Junio.