Featured image: Capturing Crazy, Jenifer Follman, 2023, oil on wood panel, 36 x 48 in. / 91.44 x 121.92 cm.
Jenifer Follman’s paintings exist in the liminal space between reality and abstraction, capturing the fleeting nature of human existence and emotion.
Jenifer Follman creates ethereal oil paintings that explore themes of transience, movement, and history through dreamlike figures and delicate, atmospheric compositions.
Through soft, dreamlike brushstrokes and muted yet evocative color palettes, Follman explores themes of movement, duality, and the tension between earthly and ephemeral realms. Her works invite viewers to engage with the intangible; questioning identity, history, and the passage of time.
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The Whole Nine Yards, Jenifer Follman, 2024, oil on wood panel, 30 x 40 in. / 76.2 x 101.6 cm.
In The Whole Nine Yards (2024), Follman portrays the tension between sky and earth, focusing on the in-between space that humans inhabit. The translucent figure emerging from the mist suggests a spiritual or psychological transition, embodying a sense of longing or departure. The delicate interplay of light and shadow reinforces the painting’s ethereal quality, as if the subject is dissolving into the atmosphere. This piece reflects on human existence as a transient state, caught between the material and the immaterial.
Lauf/Run (2023) captures the urgency of movement and historical context through its dual-language play on the word “run.” The painting features an elongated, spectral figure emerging from a sweeping landscape, blending into the surrounding space. The swirling textures suggest both motion and disintegration, evoking a sense of impermanence. By incorporating German and English interpretations of the word, Follman adds layers of meaning—infusing the piece with both literal motion and a deeper historical weight.
Mrs. W., Jenifer Follman, 2024, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 in. / 60.96 x 50.8 cm.
Mrs. W. (2024) shifts the perspective to that of a siren, exploring fluidity in both environment and emotion. The haunting expression and wild, flowing hair of the central figure create an eerie yet compelling presence. Soft, undulating brushstrokes mimic the movement of water, reinforcing the siren’s connection to her aquatic domain. This piece plays with context, as the viewer is left to wonder whether the siren is inviting, warning, or lamenting. Follman’s delicate yet intense portrayal of the subject blurs the line between mythology and human emotion.
Follman’s paintings are bound together by their ephemeral quality—figures emerge from landscapes, dissolve into mist, or appear to exist in an undefined limbo. Through her evocative use of light, movement, and layered symbolism, she examines the fleeting nature of identity, history, and perception. Her work invites viewers to reflect on their own place in the continuum of existence, urging them to embrace both movement and stillness, clarity and ambiguity.
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Adon M., Jenifer Follman, 2024, oil on wood panel, 24 x 24 in. / 60.96 x 60.96 cm.
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