DaveandJenn, also sometimes, maybe, known as David John Foy and Jennifer Saleik, have been working together since 2004.
Their varied practice weaves a long view of both human and natural histories together with the more closed off realms of private spectacles and inner landscapes.
Besides their sculptural and installation based works, over the years DaveandJenn have developed a method of painting dense, rich worlds in between multiple layers of resin, slowly building up their final images in a manner reminiscent of celluloid animation, collage and Victorian shadow boxes. The finished paintings can be many inches thick and swimming with tiny details.
DaveandJenn’s work has been included in the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts traveling exhibition Oh, Canada (2012-15), the Galerie de l’UQAM’s survey of contemporary Canadian painting, Le Projet Peinture / The Painting Project (2013), THE NEWS FROM HERE: The 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Alberta and also in their most recent solo projects No End, at the Art Gallery of Alberta (2015), Thin Skin / Thick Hide at Art Toronto (2015) as well as A Natural History of Islands at the Nickle Galleries (2016).
They have been shortlisted for the RBC’s Canadian Painting Competition (2006,2009), awarded the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Biennial Emerging Artist Award (2010) and longlisted for the Sobey Art Award (2011). DaveandJenn’s work can be found in both public and private collections, including The Royal Bank of Canada, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Calgary Municipal Collection and the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
For a look at what DaveandJenn are currently up to go here: HermeticFerns.