Jennifer Cronin

Jennifer Cronin is a Chicago-based visual artist known for her realistic paintings that explore the mystery and complexity of everyday life. Cronin’s work has evolved many times over, delving into psychology, income inequality, and climate change. Her most recent work celebrates the mundane, infusing quotidian scenes with a sense of magic and mystery. In support of her newest body of work, Jennifer was awarded grants by the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation and Chicago DCASE. Jennifer’s work has been featured on NPR, Newcity, and Sixty Inches from Center and included in exhibitions at the Elmhurst Art Museum, Museo Internazionale Italia Arte, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Jennifer received her BFA in painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is represented by Elephant Room Gallery in Chicago.


Artist Statement

When the world began to feel a little too gray, I started walking. Sometimes, on these otherwise ordinary walks, I would notice something that felt special. Mundane pieces of the landscape arranged just so beckoned me to come closer, look longer. These seemingly ordinary spaces became portals to something extraordinary—the space between day and night, between known and unknown, between here and there. In these liminal spaces, I found magic. I decided to let go of my rules, and I dove into this world of magic. I let myself remember what it felt like to play outside as the sunlight faded away. I let myself play in the space between reality and somewhere else, delighting in symphonies of color and bursts of neon brushstrokes. I saw that even here and now, there is beauty to relish in, joy to surrender to, and magic hiding in plain sight.


https://www.jennifercronin.com