His current exhibition at Danese focuses on a large group of black and white, ink and tempera works on paper, made between 2005 and 2008, referencing Chinese landscape painting and Sumi ink drawing. Jensen, 63, is still exploring how gesture and process can communicate emotional and spiritual content. Also included is a selection of richly colored paintings on paper that incorporate dry pigment, hand-mixed with egg and oil tempera In a 2002 review, Mario Naves wrote that Jensen’s paintings �with their weathered surfaces, spectral presence and tangled calligraphy, encapsulate � sometimes brutishly, at other times with a biting elegance � the terrible beauty of the elements.� Jensen has dedicated the exhibition to Al Held, a longtime friend who died unexpectedly in 2005.
“Bill Jenson: Notes from the Loggia,” Danese Gallery, New York, NY. Through March 15.