VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) presents CAMH Slide Jam: Steffani Jemison and Jenny Schlief, Thursday, March 31, 6:30pm.

Slide Jams provide windows into the ideas, images, and people in Houston's diverse and ever-changing arts community. Featured artists Steffani Jemison and Jenny Schlief will show images of their work, discuss their inspirations and creative practices, and answer questions from the audience.

Steffani Jemison received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BA from Columbia University. She also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture and served as an artist-in-residence at the Core Program at Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. Her work has been shown at LA>.

"My practice centers around conceptual arts 'unfinished business,' and focuses particularly on issues that arise when conceptual practices are inflected by black history and vernacular culture. I create work that directly responds to classic and contemporary literature, experiments in early cinema, and our present art historical moment, often working closely with nonprofessional performers to make video installations, photographs, drawings, prints, slide projector installations, musical scores, and a nonfiction novella."

Jenny Schlief's work has appeared in numerous group shows of both regional and national prominence, as well as three solo shows in Houston; Mature Milk and Beautiful Beasts in 2005 at the Deborah Colton Gallery, jennybunny bunnyjenny at Redbud Gallery in 2006 and PLUR: 2009 vs 1998 at The Joanna in 2009. Her videos, drawings and installations explore objectification, confusion of sexual roles, exploitation of sexual prowess for individual gain, insecurity, vulnerability and doubt. In 2004, Jenny founded the Young Republic, an arts group committed to providing a venue for the performing, visual and literary arts by hosting and organizing events in alternative spaces. Jenny lives with her husband and their two children in Houston.

Held in the Cullen Education Resource Room on the lower level of the Museum.

Pictured:  Jenny Schlief, “bad kitty” 2010 digital collage signed on the front for extra recognition.