Meet Jennifer Remenchik

Jennifer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was a weird kid and never felt like I fit in anywhere. That’s how I got interested in art — because I thought of it as a place where being a weirdo was OK. Also, I could draw well, and people gave me compliments about my artwork at school. This helped me feel encouraged because it gave me a sense of purpose and identity. Growing up I felt lost as to who I would become when I got older, but with art I knew I would at least have something to do.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Certainly there have been problems from the outside world; making art means financial uncertainty and periods with lack of recognition. Another harsh reality is that many people in the art world have a lot of emotional baggage mixed with high levels of ambition, a combination that can breed social toxicity.

That said, all of my biggest challenges have come from within – from self doubt. That’s one thing I love so much about getting older. Every day I feel my confidence growing as I become more and more comfortable in my own skin.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m primarily a storyteller who paints, makes films and writes a lot — about my life, my artwork and other people’s art. I just finished a film, “Mourning Letters”, composed of letters from myself to a deceased former lover that uses scenes taken from my life to explore issues around grieving, mortality, desire and art. All of my work comes out of an attempt to reconcile with things that seem overwhelming and insurmountable in my life.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
One of the things that makes art challenging and subsequently exciting is that there are no objective standards for success. When I make an artwork I have this nebulous sense of what I need to do and slowly but surely that sense becomes reality through a series of translations. For me, success is about follow through, about staying open to discovery in that process.