Jan Kern's Upcoming Exhibitions and Past Exhibitions

2006

"Collage: The Joy Factor"

Corner Store Arts, Washington, D.C. Invitational

2002

"Group Exhibition"

Gallery 325, Washington, D.C

2001

“May Invitational Group Show”
Artists’ Museum, Washington, D.C.

2000

“Artists Equity Annual Awards Exhibition”

Rock Creek Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Virginia Mecklenburg, Senior Curator

Smithsonian Museum of American Art

“Murmullos de Otono”

Rock Creek Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Juan Romero de Terreros,

Minister for Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Spain

1999

“Summer Invitational Group Show”

Artists’ Museum, Washington, D.C.

1992

“Artists Equity Sixth Annual Awards Exhibition"

Arts Alive Center, Bethesda, Maryland

Juried by artist Patricia Forrester

1991

“Artists Equity Fifth Annual Awards Exhibition”

Touchstone Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Willem de Looper, Chief Curator

Phillips Collection

“Three Acts: Painting, Sculpting, Drawing”

Rockville Arts Place, Rockville, Maryland

Juried by Angela Adams, curator

National Museum of Women in the Arts

1990

“Prints and Drawings: Tri-State Juried Exhibition"

Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, Virginia

Juried by Deborah Wye, Associate Curator

Museum of Modern Art, New York

“Artery ’90: SixthAnnual
Multi-Media Juried Exhibition"
Strathmore Hall Arts Center
Rockville,Maryland
Juried by Marilyn Zeitlin, Executive Director
Washington Project for the Arts

1989

“Fourth Annual International Exhibition”

Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Juried by an international panel

"Artists Equity Fourth Annual Awards Exhibition”

Washington, D.C.

Juried by Helaine Posner, Chief Curator

National Museum of Women in the Arts

1988

“Third Annual International Exhibition”

Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Juried by international panel

Honorable Mention Award

“International Miniature Show”

Arts Club, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Willem de Looper, Chief Curator

Phillips Collection

Honorable Mention Award

“Seven by Seven”

Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Invitational

“Artists Equity Annual Exhibition”

Martin Luther King Jr. Library, Washington D.C.

Juried by David Tannous, art critic and curator

“Open Exhibition”

Council of the Arts, Fairfax, Virginia

Juried by Jack Cowart, Curator for

20th Century Art, National Gallery of Art

“Work on Paper”

Maryland Federation of Art

Juried by Michael Monroe, Curator,

Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Kern began exhibiting in 1980 when her two of her collages were selected for the Corcoran Gallery’s Twenty-Second Area Exhibition, “Works on Paper”, juried by William Lieberman, Chairman, Department of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kern’s work has been in more than thirty-five exhibitions in the U.S. and Canada; many of them juried by curators from major art institutions, including the National Gallery of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Phillips Collection, Renwick Gallery, and National Museum of Women in the Arts. In addition to the honor of being selected, Kern won awards in several juried shows.

Kern has had three solo exhibitions. Her work is in private collections throughout the Washington DC metropolitan area and in fourteen states.

1987

“Seven by Seven”

Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Invitational

”Abstractions”

New Art Center, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Zimbabwe artist Dierdre Saunder

“Second Annual International Exhibition”

Juried by an international panel

Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

“Collage”
New Art Center, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Sylvia Ripley, Addison-Ripley Gallery

“Emerging Artists of Distinction”

New Art Center, Washington, D.C.

"Exhibition of Washington Area Artists"

National Institutes of Health Gallery

Bethesda, Maryland

1986

“First Annual International Exhibition”

Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

Juried by an international panel

"The Aesthetic Text”

New Art Center, Washington, D.C.

Juried by J.W. Mahoney, artist and writer

"Ambiguous Relationships”

Strathmore Hall Art Center, Rockville, Maryland

Juried by David Tannous, art critic and curator

Honorable Mention Award

“Seven by Seven”
Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Invitational

"Membership Exhibition”

Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, Virginia

Juried by Willem de Looper Chief

Curator Phillips Collection

“In Celebration of Washington Artists”

Juried exhibition sponsored by the Progressive Club

Gallery Row, Washington D.C.

“Photostatic”

Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C

Invitational

1984

“Small Works”

Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Juried by Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Chief Curator

National Museum of American Art

1980

“Works on Paper: Twenty-Second Area Exhibition"

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Juried by William Lieberman, Chairman

Department of Modern Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1975

“Spring Exhibition Corcoran School of Art”

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Award Second Place, Printmaking

1973

“Spring Exhibition Corcoran School of Art”

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

First-place Departmental Award for Design

Solo Exhibitions

ARTIST TALK: OPENING AT THE CORNER STORE GALLERY

RECENT REVIEWS

HIGHLIGHTS OF PREVIOUS SHOWS

Group Exhibitions

2015

"Collaged Paintings by Jan Kern,"

Corner Store Arts, Washington DC

1997

“Celebrating Color, Line, and Rhythm: Large Pieced Paintings and Other Work”

Artists’ Museum, Washington, D.C.

1984

“Small Collages”

Gallery 4, Alexandria, Virginia

"I wanted each piece to work as a whole, but have every little voice
of color speak individually...How do you have the many and the one
as a unity? It’s the question of all time...”" — Jan Kern

“’Hands Dance with Zebra Stripes’ was inspired by an exhibition
of Ice Age art that I saw in the 1970’s. These early people made
stencils of their hands on cave walls....For me, hands are a joyful expression.” — Jan Kern

“At the Textile Museum I discovered a link between abstraction,
content, beauty, and survival -- color, design, and meaning
all interwoven.” — Jan Kern

“Visually, there are strong commonalities around the world, despite current divisions that are heartbreaking...There are no divisions
here tonight.” — Jan Kern

◙ Mark Jenkins, “In The Galleries,” Washington Post, January 3, 2016

"The titles of Jan Kern’s 'Collaged Paintings' disclose not only her international influences but also her lack of interest in simply mirroring them. The D.C. artist’s Corner Store show references Mexico and Morocco, countries whose decorative styles are as bright as their sunlight. But a composition titled “Moorish Echoes in Bali” suggests what Kern does with the colors and motifs she spots on her journeys: rips, chops and reassembles them.

The artist’s earlier work compounded found objects, but now Kern combines scraps of her own paintings, executed with acrylic on canvas. She paints or cuts basic geometric shapes, sometimes complicating the pieces by punching through the fabric or drawing freehand patterns in the pigment before it dries. Squares and triangles alternate with such abstracted body parts as the palms and fingers of “Hands Dance With Zebra Stripes,” the most Matisse-like of the lot. Some of Kern’s assemblages are framed by black rectangles, but they’re all rhythmic and upbeat. In her vision, what links Africa, Asia, Latin America and us is music for the eye."

◙ Jim Magner, “Art and the City,” Hill Rag, January 2016

"You still have time to see this excellent show. Jan Kern paints the symbols, ideas, and structures of life. Her collaged paintings vibrate with pure, geometrically aligned color contrasts and patterns, and connect with cultures around the world, both modern and ancient -- an expedition through time -- with a personal perspective and heartbeat."

◙ East City Art, December 9, 2016

“Kern’s collaged paintings are striking for their dramatic color interplay, strong design, and rich mix of global influences. Kern’s work reflects how she has absorbed lessons from masters of modern color-focused abstraction, including the Washington Color School.”