Jane Rosen has the unique ability to evoke both enigma and precision within her work. Synthesizing her understanding of the connections between nature, science, history, and art, Rosen’s artworks are based on the basic laws of nature. Her chosen subjects, animals wild and tame, are used as vehicles to explore their instincts and natural intelligence. For Rosen, understanding animal nature is the key to understanding human nature. Much of her work concerns capturing a moment when an animal is caught in the act of looking or doing; these creatures have an intention but how aware are they of themselves and their actions? Rosen’s work subtly and elegantly poses this question.
Rosen cites not only ancient Egyptian culture but Renaissance masters like Michelangelo and da Vinci, and the 20th-century artist Giorgio Morandi, as influences. Like these artists, Rosen excels across several different mediums such as sculpture, painting, and drawing. Traces of all three can be found in each artwork; upon close observation, a sculpture has been painted or a drawing has had several layers of wax sculpted onto its surface.
Rosen was born in New York City where she grew up and began her career as an artist. Despite finding early success in galleries and a prestigious teaching position in the city, Rosen found herself captivated by the accessibility of nature on a visit to the West Coast. Constantly inspired by the animals that surround her ranch in Northern California, Rosen’s compositions capture the essential, natural energy intrinsic to each animal.
A masterful and sought-after teacher, Rosen has taught at numerous elite institutions including the School of Visual Arts and Bard College in New York, LaCoste School of the Arts in France, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Rosen’s work has been reviewed in New York Times, ArtForum, Art in America, and Art News. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and is in numerous public and private collections including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Aspen Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Chevron Corporation, the collection of Grace Borgenicht, JP Morgan Chase Bank, the collection of Eric Fischl and April Gornik, the Mitsubishi Corporation, multiple U.S. Embassies, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and is held in numerous public and private collections including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO; the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; multiple U.S. Embassies, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY among others.
