Jennika Bastian

Jennika’s creations develop from psychological and emotional experiences that leave a vivid and tangible impression on her. Her work is inspired by in-between spaces of her middle world : the connective flow of dreams and waking, growth and decay, the ebb of the ephemeral. She is interested in creating a personal folklore of motifs and characters that share stories of navigation through the dark and light of her psyche. Aesthetically, her work is characterized by gestural line work, emotive swaths of color, paired with realistically rendered fragments of environments and characters that cause the viewer to peer into her reality through a fantastical lens. After graduating in 2013 with her Bachelor of Fine Arts from UW Madison, she has since been employed at Madison Children’s Museum, creating collaborative art with kids and working behind the scenes on exhibits. She recently returned from the artist residency, EUARKA+, in tandem with the exhibition Documenta 14, in Kassel Germany. Her freelance work includes illustrating a young adult fantasy series, installation design for the Burning Man festival and murals. She has exhibited regionally and internationally.


Fire Follow, oil on canvas, 36″x48″


The Upside Down Forest, oil on canvas, 48″x72″


How to Turn Invisible, oil on canvas, 48″x60″