Kenneth Freeman

It is with her commitment to a lifelong, organic process that Jenny Nelson has achieved what so many artists and creatives work for; a language and a technique that is very much her own. She has wooed audiences in the United States and abroad with consistently exquisite and balanced abstract paintings in neutral palettes of blues and grays that give way to pops of pink and orange. But to pin her as solely an abstractionist would be limiting her skill and versatility as a painter.

Classically trained at Bard College, Nelson’s thorough knowledge of composition and color relationships as experienced through drawing from life are the tools that prepared her to work in abstraction and develop her technique. Inspired by the photographs of artist Joseph Podlesnik, Nelson uses his architectural and observational compositions as the framework for her new work. While the origins of the photographs’ subjects are not recognizable in the finished painting, she channels the energy discovered in his real-life findings to her canvas for a result that is entirely abstract. Invigorated by this approach, she bravely moves forward, prepared to shift genres if that is, where her journey takes her.

Nelson also studied at the Lacoste School of the Arts in France and Maine College of Art. She completed a Residency at Byrdcliffe Art Colony from 2004–8 and has exhibited regionally and nationally for many years. Nelson currently teaches workshops and an ongoing weekly class at the Woodstock School of Art.

Find a collection of original Jenny Nelson art today on 1stDibs.

Bring audacious experiments with color and textures to your living room, dining room or home office. Abstract paintings, large or small, will stand out in your space, encouraging conversation and introducing a museum-like atmosphere that’s welcoming and conducive to creating memorable gatherings.

Abstract art has origins in 19th-century Europe, but it came into its own as a significant movement during the 20th century. Early practitioners of abstraction included Wassily Kandinsky, although painters were exploring nonfigurative art prior to the influential Russian artist’s efforts, which were inspired by music and religion. Abstract painters endeavored to create works that didn’t focus on the outside world’s conventional subjects, and even when artists depicted realistic subjects, they worked in an abstract mode to do so.

In 1940s-era New York City, a group of painters working in the abstract mode created radical work that looked to European avant-garde artists as well as to the art of ancient cultures, prioritizing improvisation, immediacy and direct personal expression. While they were never formally affiliated with one another, we know them today as Abstract Expressionists.

The male contingent of the Abstract Expressionists, which includes Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell, is frequently cited in discussing leading figures of this internationally influential postwar art movement. However, the women of Abstract Expressionism, such as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell and others, were equally involved in the art world of the time. Sexism, family obligations and societal pressures contributed to a long history of their being overlooked, but the female Abstract Expressionists experimented vigorously, developed their own style and produced significant bodies of work.

Draw your guests into abstract oil paintings across different eras and countries of origin. On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive range of abstract paintings along with a guide on how to arrange your wonderful new wall art.

If you’re working with a small living space, a colorful, oversize work can create depth in a given room, but there isn’t any need to overwhelm your interior with a sprawling pièce de résistance. Colorful abstractions of any size can pop against a white wall in your living room, but if you’re working with a colored backdrop, you may wish to stick to colors that complement the decor that is already in the space. Alternatively, let your painting make a statement on its own, regardless of its surroundings, or group it, gallery-style, with other works.