JEAN FOOS . Dispatches from Governors Island
Born the year of our book young ones of old
a memory capable of filling lines, dust parsing violet dulls
idyllic tide pool afternoon, June-like glides the January gull
I thought I would grow old today in the jet stream
spice supreme primeness unbound portrait of the beautiful utopia voyage
Metatarsus cinch at canyon wall misstep triggering Valley of Fire
TAOJF atomic testing momentum sees new year words for days
aerially unprepared flinty sequined stooge in g-string neon mob
Who's the light and who's the shadow? Farewells in the street
durable motif pinking a petroglyph imprints future infractions losing stone
Always covered in paint, lackadaisical autobiographical, what she lives for
clear backdrop raven-haired passing launch from band of allies
alas! Ravens memory and thought disguise exits, don't recognize her
hyperbole of the arts tip out at zero sum ergo
pictures oxidize in the pigment fading photolysis of hot sunlight
—excerpt from The Autobiography of Jean Foos by Jessica Grim and Melanie Neilson
The photos above show some of the surfaces and textures that inspired and surrounded me on Governors Island this past year. A four-month-long studio residency allowed me space to work in seclusion during the quarantine. I commuted daily by ferry, wandered the brick paths, and painted the walls of my house with patterns.
The excerpt above is from the long-form collaborative work, The Autobiography of Jean Foos. Used with permission of the authors. Copyright 2020 Jessica Grim and Melanie Neilson.
Jean Foos is a NYC based visual artist—primarily an abstract painter whose work includes relief sculpture and installation. She favors offbeat, ad hoc urban settings for exhibition of her work, including crumbling piers, abandoned military housing and community gardens. Her works are motivated by engagement with grid structures and found materials which she paints on directly. In 2020 her work was shown at Hal Bromm Gallery, the Susquehanna Art Museum and The Corner at Whitman-Walker.