b. 1983, York, PA

Jess Engle is a contemplative abstract painter based in Austin, Texas. Her work is an expression of peace through the presence of opposition.

She spent her formative years living in Pakistan, Germany, Ethiopia, Cyprus, Malawi, South Africa, and Togo. Each place has left an imprint on her spirit and informs her aesthetic sensibility.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Jess works with the guiding principle that true peace can only be found through the presence of opposing forces. This is a way of moving through art and life that is guided by her lifelong practice and study of ancient wisdom traditions, Sōtō Zen in particular.

There is a direct meeting of light and dark, subtle and overt, raw and refined, solidity and weightlessness, the eternal and present moment that gives each piece a life force of its own.

PROCESS

The most important medium in Jess Engle’s work is time. Her works are created in layers of building up and breaking down over periods of months and often years.

Jess experiences creation as a process of becoming. A passage through space and time. A way of living between worlds. A way of moving in concert with life. A way of bridging different views and perspectives. And a way of fostering peace in times of polarity. ∞