In her large-scale, expressionistic paintings, Dora Jeridi (b. 1988; Paris, France) layers abstract gestures with elements of figuration in theatrical examinations of the tension of the strength and vulnerability inherent to the human condition. Throughout her work, fragments of old master paintings run into expressionistic oil and spray paint gestures along with charcoal, oil stick, and ballpoint marks. Within these richly textured surfaces, Jeridi captures the complex interplay of personal anxiety, societal crisis, and historical reckoning. Humming with narrative potential, these works nevertheless remain elusive, only revealing themselves in breathless glimpses.
Trained as a political historian, Jeridi turned to painting as a refuge—and out of a desire for a sense of truth she never found in academic discourse. Throughout her practice, Jeridi acts as both composer and DJ. In her role as composer, she treats each of her distinct materials—oil paint, charcoal, ballpoint pen, spray paint—as its own melody line, bringing them together on canvas in harmony and dissonance. Acting as a DJ, the artist collages visual allusions to art history—from Velázquez to Goya to Twombly to Guston—with elements of pop culture, sampling, splicing, and reassembling all her source material into compositions entirely her own.
Marianne Boesky Gallery