“Jennifer Packer’s lyrical paintings challenge
the divisions between realism and abstraction. As her figures are broken down,
foreground merges into background and figures merge into space, forcing the
viewer to acknowledge the multitudes of meanings and contradictions not only
within her works, but within society as a whole.” –The Wall Street Journal

(Sarasota County) The Hermitage Artist Retreat,
in collaboration with the Greenfield Foundation, has selected New York-based artist
Jennifer Packer as the winner of the 2020 Greenfield Prize, given this year in the
field of visual art. Packer will receive a six-week residency at the Hermitage
and a $30,000 commission for a new work, which will premiere in Sarasota in 2022
with the Hermitage’s presenting partner, The John & Mable Ringling Museum
of Art.

Andy
Sandberg, the Hermitage’s artistic director and chief executive officer, notes that
Packer was selected by a prestigious jury that included Valerie Cassel-Oliver,
the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at
the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Daniel Byers, director of the Carpenter
Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University; and Veronica Roberts, curator
of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton Museum of Art at The University
of Texas at Austin. Three additional finalists included Guggenheim Fellow Patty
Chang; 2019 McArthur Fellowship recipient Mel Chin; and the inaugural recipient
of the Ellsworth Kelly Award, Cauleen Smith. All three will receive a Hermitage
residency, in addition to a prize of $1,000.

“Amidst an
extraordinary and competitive selection of finalists, Jennifer Packer stood out
as an innovative, forward-thinking visual artist who impressed the jury with
her thoughtful and inspired vision,” says Sandberg. “She embodies the mission
of the Hermitage Greenfield Prize—to bring into the world works of art that
have a significant impact on the broad as well as the artistic culture of our society.
We thank our distinguished jurors for their care and leadership, and we
congratulate all of our finalists. We look forward to recognizing Jennifer in
Sarasota at the Greenfield Prize Award Dinner, and subsequently welcoming her
as a Hermitage fellow and seeing the premiere of her newest work in
collaboration with The Ringling in 2022.”

Jennifer
Packer creates expressionist portraits, interior scenes, and still lifes that
suggest a casual intimacy. Packer views her works as the result of an authentic
encounter and exchange. The models for her portraits—commonly friends or family
members—are relaxed and seemingly unaware of the artist’s or viewer’s gaze. Packer’s
paintings are rendered in loose line and brush stroke using a limited color
palette, often to the extent that her subject merges with or retreats into the
background. Suggesting an emotional and psychological depth, her work is
enigmatic, avoiding a straightforward reading. “I think about images that
resist, that attempt to retain their secrets or maintain their composure, that
put you to work,” she explains. “I hope to make works that suggest how dynamic
and complex our lives and relationships really are.”

 Born in 1984 in Philadelphia, Packer received
her BFA from the Tyler University School of Art at Temple University in 2007,
and her MFA from Yale University School of Art in 2012. She was the 2012-2013
Artist-in-Residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and a Visual Arts Fellow at
the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, from 2014-2016. Her most recent
solo show, “Tenderheaded,” exhibited at the Renaissance Society, Chicago, in
the fall of 2017 before travelling to the Rose Museum at Brandeis University in
March of 2018. Packer currently lives and works in New York and is an assistant
professor in the painting department at RISD.

Packer
will receive her award at the Greenfield Prize Award Dinner on Sunday,
April 19, 6 p.m., at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, in
Sarasota. The dinner will be co-chaired by Ellen Berman and Flora
Major, with honorary co-chairs, Steven High, executive director of
The Ringling, and Anne-Marie Russell, executive director of Sarasota Art
Museum. Tickets begin at $175 with benefactor and
sponsorship levels available; reservations can be made online at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Further
details about the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend, including the world premiere
of Pulitzer Prize-winner Martyna Mayok’s new play, in partnership with
the Asolo Rep, will be announced at a later date.  The Hermitage Greenfield Weekend is presented
in partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

About the Greenfield
Prize:

The Greenfield Prize, presented by
the Hermitage Artist Retreat, is a groundbreaking partnership between the Hermitage
Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation. Rotating between the fields of
music, theater, and visual art, this prestigious national prize seeks to “bring
into the world works of art that will have a significant impact on the broader
or artistic culture.” The Greenfield Prize is awarded annually and
includes a Hermitage fellowship, as well as a $30,000 commission for a new
piece of work to be created within a two-year time frame. A residency at the
Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, ensures time
and space in which to do the work. Former
Greenfield Prize winners include Helga Davis, Music (2019); Martyna Majok,
Drama (2018); David Burnett, Visual Photography (2017); Coco Fusco. Visual Art
(2016); Bobby Previte, Music (2015); Nilo Cruz, Drama (2014); Trenton Doyle
Hancock, Visual Art (2013); Vijay Iyer, Music (2012); John Guare, Drama (2011);
Sanford Biggers, Visual Art (2010); Craig Lucas, Drama (2009) and Eve
Beglarian, Music (2009).

About the Hermitage Artist Retreat: