Kate Javens: Good Neighbor

"This show is a celebration of the people around you who save your life everyday- the people who show up, who you trust, who live lives of service....and frankly, it's all of us."

--Kate Javens, 2024

Marcia Wood Gallery is thrilled to present the first body of work by Kate Javens of human portraits, entitled Good Neighbor.

In 2008 Kate Javens moved to New York City's 127th St and joined the neighborhood's historic community garden, The Reverend Linnette C. Williamson Memorial Park Association, which in 1965 established the first "vest-pocket" park in the city. These parks, often found nestled between brownstones or politely sprawling on a corner block, revolutionized urban space. They have gained recognition for not only transforming their small spaces but also for reclaiming them to serve the needs of neighborhood communities. This body of work represents the good people who come through for their upper Manhattan community, rain or shine, year after year. They are faithful stewards of the shared gardens, growing food and flowers and providing a respite of beauty and tranquility in the middle of a bustling city. They also support a score of additional services to aid their neighborhood, selflessly giving their time, muscle and joy. 

Painted here are the leaders with whom Javens has worked most closely over her 15 years of service and community, as well as several children who grew up in the gardens. Participation in Javens's project is another act of their generosity. Javens's ongoing Good Neighbor series will ultimately honor the more than fifty families of volunteers whose lives are intertwined and uplifted through their acts of service.  

Javens is known for her compelling portraits of animals chosen to represent figures in American history who represent an altruism and social activism that deserve to be commemorated. This exhibition presents eight breathtaking large scale portraits of people.

Kate Javens's paintings in oil are extraordinary both for the beauty of her brushstroke as well as for their passionate moral intensity. In a painting style that synthesizes an Old Masters clarity of light with a basis in American naturalism and realism, Javens connects with the viewer by an empathy to her subjects. 

About The Reverend Linnette C.Williamson Memorial Park Association: 

Reverend Linnette C. Williamson led the Christ Community Church of Harlem on 128th St. for decades. One of her many accomplishments was convincing the City of New York to give city park status to the abandoned lot next to her church. In 1965, this small piece of land sparked a revolution in the use of urban space, becoming the first "vest-pocket" park in New York City. 

The Park Association's all-volunteer membership continues to steward this historic space, and it now includes four properties, urban farming, caring for open green space, and supporting a shelter for families who have been victims of domestic violence. We also raise money to aid in the upgrade of libraries in our neighborhood schools, and continue to support the charitable work of the Rev's original Christ Community Church Harlem.

Kate Javens was born in Missouri and spent her childhood in Japan, Mexico, and the bicoastal United States.  She attended the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Javens is a Golden Foundation Residency Fellow, a three-time MacDowell Fellow, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Painting Fellow, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts Disciplinary Winner in Painting.  Her works are held in private and public collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, the Palmer Museum of Art at the Pennsylvania State University, the Telfair Museum of Art, the Blanden Art Museum, and the Connecticut College Print Collection.  A monograph, Kate Javens, American Beasts, was published by the Blanden Museum and distributed by D.A.P..  Kate Javens lives and works in New York City.

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