JAALAH CHERI'

 Biography:

Jaalah Cheri’ Benson is an artist who currently resides in Hillsboro, OR.

Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Jaalah moved across the country with her husband

with plans to explore the Pacific Northwest's mountainous landscape. Jaalah received

her BFA with a focus in Painting from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2017.

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Jaalah’s Window Series is sourced from residential housing observed during daily

walks, often at night on the Milwaukee East Side. While meandering throughout the

neighborhood, she observed windows illuminated in the darkness. After gathering

photographic references, she explored and mimicked the light source contrasting

against the encapsulating darkness through paintings.

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Upon moving to Oregon, Jaalah's paintings have varied from memories of wandering

Milwaukee, abstract compositions influenced by natural lighting, and experimenting with various painting techniques.

She is in the process of transition and relearning, not only her physical surroundings but also in her studio practice.

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Artist Statement:

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Window Series:

To walk, often at night, after businesses- even bars, have closed. Or early morning, before the coffee shops open, before sparrows have spread their wings. To think in the surrounding silence, to understand there are moments when the busy bustle stops and you can hear yourself think. That stillness, in which if one looks closely into the night sky, small glowing stars can be seen above. The street lights are still blinking consistent warning red. This calm, quiet early morning and late evening is when one can be reminded they are just as small and intimate as the single light illuminating an interior room across the street.

While the light is on, illuminating the spaces it touches, the window, the border, the frame, restricts and confines the freedom to a singular view. This restricted view only shifts slightly based on the location from the outside looking in, but no more or less information is given. The restricted perspective gives way to an obtuse interior, the composition is created.

The composition is to mimic the surrounding silence, the feeling of being small and mysterious, self aware yet perplexed. To create an obvious distance between here and there, the main focus a faint memory of the everyday experience. The paintings become exploration of luminescent colors contrasting with bold, dark edges; contrasting with the bustling world that surrounds them.