"Jenn Smith clearly sees the mockery that Christianity imposes on itself, though she focuses more on its paranoid earnestness than faith’s hypocrisy. That being said, she doesn’t seem quite ready to turn it into a punchline. With such paintings as The Eye-Gate Travels the Distance and Visitors III, both 2019, Smith brilliantly employs a balance of bold and pastel colors, and sharp and rigid shapes, against fluid strokes of movement. In the latter picture, two magenta figures demonstrate Smith’s use of ambiguity: The cartoon-like characters possess both angel wings and a demonic, hostile gaze. We can learn from this dissolution of threat into grace: Salvation comes not from power but with softness, if we can find it."

KT Hawbaker

Read the review of the show here.