"100 Creatives" Interview by the Miami New Times

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.CLICK HERE for the original interview by Elena Chiriboga.

1. List five things that inspire you. -FREEGUMS -Outer space and how what we see is in the past -The Florida Everglades -Kaleidoscopes -Super friends & family

2. What was your last big project? A huge 9 ft. x 6 ft. sculpture made out of paper that dripped down the wall at SCOPE Art Fair in Carol Jazzar's booth.

3. What's your next big project? Next is a 2-person show at Show&Tell gallery (Toronto) with amazing artist Maya Hayuk. We'll be doing collaborations as well as our own work. Also, I'm doing an animations for one of Dan Deacon's new tracks. He is a genius musician/composer from Baltimore who has great live shows.

4. Why do you do what you do? Why not, bro?

5. What's something you want Miami to know about you? I'm 3rd generation Miamian. My great-grandpa owned a dairy/cattle farm where the Miami airport is located today. On the other side, my grandparents met while working at the Miami Herald in the 1930's. She did classified's and he was an aviation reporter and saw Amelia Earhart off on one of her last flights.

What's something you don't want Miami to know about you? I peed on the magic carpet.

Sendero Luminoso / 13"x16" / acid free felt-tip pen on watercolor paper / 2011

"Most of us aren't able to do too much with construction paper, but Miami artist Jen Stark pretty much creates the unbelievable. With a BFA in Fibers from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Stark is most recognized for her labor-intense paper sculptures which mirror designs found in nature. "I think geometry, nature, and mathematics have everything in common. My ideas are also based on replication and infinity as well as hypnotic, optical designs that mimic mandalas and sacred objects," explains the artist.

Stark's oeuvre of mind-bending work originally began with a summer abroad trip to the south of France where the artist found a friend in construction paper due to its bargain price and potential. Eventually, Stark's stack of colorful paper transformed into three-dimensional sculptures which has now expanded to include drawings and animation.

One of her most impressive and meticulous sculptures, How to Become a Millionaire in 100 days, includes a mountain of one million pieces of confetti-style paper achieved through hand cutting 10,000 pieces a day. Stark explains the thought behind the sculpture: "For this piece I wanted to challenge the idea of being a millionaire: someone with one million dollars? Or one million objects? Having one million of something makes you a millionaire, doesn't it?"

And while her artwork might not be worth millions, yet, Stark has garnered a fan base that includes Miami collectors and comedy sketch artist Eric from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! "Eric is awesome! I'm happy to have someone so crazy and brilliant as a fan of my work. I don't officially collect work, but I have little drawings from artist friends," says Stark. As an artist who has exhibited extensively, Stark continues to find inspiration in her hometown explaining, "There is so much amazing stuff going on but still a lot of room to grow, which is exciting."  by Elena Chiriboga

To read more go HERE

Group show at Fullerton College / Orange County, CA

I'm going to have new work in a group art show at Fullerton College in Orange County, CA. Here is the info:

"Paper Cuts" Group show at Fullerton College Art Gallery Opening Thursday January 27 from 5pm - 7pm On display Thursday, January 27 - Thursday, February 24, 2011

Fullerton College Art Gallery / 321 E. Chapman Avenue, Fullerton California 92832 | 714-992-7000

ArtInfo: Basel from an artist's point of view

During this year's Art Basel Miami I wrote a story for ARTINFO.com from a local artists point of view. It highlights my favorite artwork and moments of this year's fair. Check out the story and slideshow HERE. .

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"The convention center on South Beach that houses Art Basel Miami Beach is where all this madness began in 2001. The insanity has been returning to Miami annually, with all the events and satellite fairs surrounding the main fair seeming to grow larger each year. But somehow, between leading around out-of-town friends, partying, and rubbing my swollen feet, I saw some really amazing art. After hanging my own work at SCOPE fair (with Carol Jazzar Gallery), I decided to scout out and photograph some of my favorite artworks all around Miami.

Since Art Basel is what bred all the other satellite fairs, I covered the artwork at that huge fair first. I spent two long days looking around the convention center and wasn't even able to see everything. This fair is so huge that you need to take breaks from all the art-watching or your brain could explode. The slide show at left is a snapshot of the Basel Miami art experience through the eyes of one local Miami artist".....read on

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"Legal Tender" at Martha Otero Gallery


My work will be in a group show in Los Angeles at Martha Otero Gallery. If you're in town, check it out:


LEGAL TENDER Martha Otero Gallery November 20, 2010 - January 8, 2011 Opening Reception: Saturday, November 20th from 6 to 8 pm

A group exhibition featuring work by:

E.V. Day
Dzine
John Espinosa
Rob Fischer
Matt Greene
Adam Janes
Brad Kahlhamer
Jose Parla
Travis LeRoy Southworth
Jen Stark
Centrifugal / 40" x 31" x 5" / hand-cut paper on wood backing / 2010

For more information contact www.marthaotero.com

Nylon Magazine

NYLON Magazine just did a feature on Miami for their November issue. It highlights young creatives in Miami including Jacuzzi Boys, Alvaro Ilizarbe, FriendsWithYou, Sweat Records, and myself among others. Thanks to Natalie Shukur and Nicole Michalek for this awesome article!  Click on images to enlarge:

MIAMI - By Natalie Shukur, Photographed by Nicole Michalek

THE HOME STUDIO of artists Jen Stark and her boyfriend Alvaro Ilizarbe, a.k.a. Freegums, in Little Havana is an explosion of markers, pots of paint, tubes of crazy glue, rafts of colored construction paper, tubs of Play doh, and kitsch souvenirs, (from a toy llama to a bronze bust of Tutankhamun). It’s the creative pied à terre of a pair who are the sartorial embodiment of their work. Stark is the color crusader, today resplendent in a tie-dye top and miniskirt adorned with multicolored ribbons. Her arresting, intricate, rainbow-hued paper sculptures have attracted international attention, making her one of the most promising young artists on the Miami scene. One of her early pieces, “How to become a Millionaire in 100 days,” involved cutting 10,000 scraps of paper a day for 100 days, resulting in a stunning sculptural mound of confetti. On the table in front of us sit half-finished psychedelic felt-tip drawings, which she will show at the SCOPE satellite fair during art Basel in December. Freegums’ graphic drawings are as detailed as Stark’s, but in contrast (like his black skinny jeans and black and white tank top), are devoid of color. T-shirts are his medium of choice, on which he prints satirical slogans, dizzying patterns, and “crazy creatures.” also in his portfolio: large-scale paintings on wood, album artwork for musician Mayer Hawthorne, T-shirts for local band Jacuzzi Boys, and an installation he created for the opening of Bar during last year’s Art Basel where he plastered the walls with his brain-bending prints. “We feed off each other’s energy,” he says of being in a creative couple. “Sometimes we’ll both be sitting here drawing and I’ll be in the zone, and I’ll look up and she’ll be in the zone, too.”

SCOPE Art Fair MIAMI

I'll be showcasing some installation pieces at SCOPE Art Fair this year at Carol Jazzar's booth #A21.  If you're down for Basel, make sure to check it out! JEN STARK at SCOPE with Carol Jazzar booth #A21 NOV 30th - DEC 5th,  2010 Midtown / 3055 North Miami Avenue / Miami, FL 33127

Check out the SCOPE website or Carol Jazzar website for more info.Jen Stark at SCOPE with Carol Jazzar gallery booth #A21

SCOPE ART FAIR HOURS First View: Opening Tuesday Nov 30 (VIP) / 3pm-9pm General Admission Fair Hours: Wednesday, December 1 / 11am-6pm Thursday-Saturday, Dec 2-4 / 11am-7pm Sunday, December 5 / 11am-6pm

Creatives Desks

I was asked to do a post on the site: Creatives Desks. It's a blog showcasing creatives desks from around the world. Check out mine HERE.

Jen Stark was born in Miami, FL in 1983 and graduated with a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005, majoring in Fibers with a minor in Animation. She frequently uses materials such as paper and wood, striving to create complex structures that reveal how remarkable common materials can become. Stark’s ideas are also based on replication and infinity as well as hypnotic, optical designs that mimic mandalas and sacred objects. www.jenstark.com

Miami Herald "20 under 40"

The Miami Herald just came out with a new article featuring 20 creative South Floridians under 40 years old. Each person was nominated by the community, and I made the cut! Here is an online link to all the artists selected, and an easier to read online article on myself HERE.

PERFORMANCE: Ohwowies, The Magical Goat and Triplet

During the DADARHEA Show at O.H.W.O.W. on Friday August 13th,  Alvaro Ilizarbe (AKA Freegums), Sam Borkson (FriendsWithYou) and I created 3 magical creatures and did a live performance during the opening. We blew poppers, feathers, and glitter out of our costumes and pranced around ringing bells. Here are a few photos.

Alvaro Ilizarbe (left), Jen Stark (center) and Sam Borkson (right)

"DADARHEA" at O.H.W.O.W in Miami

If you're in Miami on Friday, August 13 come check out a wild opening of a group show I'm in at O.H.W.O.W.
Opening reception Friday, August 13, 2010 8pm.



DADARHEA August 13 - August 31, 2010 3100 NW 7 Avenue / Miami / Florida / 33127


Welcome to DADARHEA. An idea born from an absurd dream involving pee filled supersoakers and deep fried laptops. It's a dadaist pizzeria. It's idea-rhea. It's the video art equivalent to fantasy island - where Devin Flynn is the Mr. Roarke to Jim Drain's tattoo. Dadarhea is freeform video workshop with a group of guest artists who pride themselves on confounding their audiences, allowing them to employ animation, live action video (on location and greenscreen), musical performance, or any and all improvised & questionable behavior. Through the month of July, a residency at OHWOW (MIAMI) and at Bec Stupak's Honeygun Labs (NYC) will take place in order to experiment with the possiblity of total video saturation. The finished video will premiere on August 13th with an accompanying installation comprised of any and all emphemera related to the project. Dadarhea-ists include: Devin Flynn, Jim Drain, Naomi Fisher, Ara Peterson, Joe Grillo, Takeshi Murata, Francine Speigel, Melissa Brown, Marie Lorenz, Todd James, Brian Belott, Jessie Gold, Michael Williams, Erin Krause, Alvaro Ilizarbe, Jen Stark, Friends With You, Billy Grant, Laura Grant, Alison Kuo, Eric Fensler...and more!

MIAMI TIME Pirate Radio Show

This past Monday night from 7-9pm, our friend Gio asked us to host our own call in pirate-style radio session for her show "Miami Time" on WVUM (the local UM station).  Alvaro Ilizarbe (FREEGUMS) and I invited callers to call in live as they told us about their dogs, girl problems, how to squeeze owls, and read bible scriptures. All while we played songs from Ethiopia, to Miami Bass, to outer space! It was a wild and crazy time! Listen to the whole show here:.

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Check out Gio's website Miami Time & the WVUM website.

Jen Stark & Rory Macarthur: Opening May 14

My work will be in a 2-person show on May 14, 2010 in Miami at Carol Jazzar's. It should be an amazing show, so if you're in Miami, come out! Jen Stark & Rory Macarthur: Opening Friday, May 14 from 7-11 pm at Carol Jazzar's. JenStark

Carol Jazzar is pleased to present JEN STARK / RORY MACARTHUR, a two person exhibition of new three-dimensional work.

Miami based Jen Stark’s vibrant oeuvre of the last few years comes full circle here with works that pay homage to her own prolific trajectory. A recessed paper hole in the wall reminiscent of a seminal early work sets the tone for a reflective collection of characteristically mystifying sculptures. Complex gradients and intricate, mingling lattices of color and geometry push the envelope of the artist’s own expectations and explode the ocular sense. A freestanding zig-zag form that invites viewers to encompass it, beguiled by its illusionistic surface further enforces the 360 degree quality to this offering.

Rory MacArthur's series is an ambitious investigation into what the artist perceives as the limitless possibilities of non-representational painting. Borne of voluminous, fastidious preparatory drawings, many of which are realized as final works, these candied beauties, all pink, green and melted, exemplify a thoroughness of approach that is important to emphasize in light of their effortless appearances. From an elaborate but direct process involving the repeated carving, sanding and sealing of multiple layers of Styrofoam, the painting, applied to its labor intensive substrata with both roller and air, enamels its topographic playground like a seductive skin, undermining and underlining the inherent physicality.

With shared concerns, exhaustive methodologies and a penchant to produce catalysts for a kind of spiritual reverie through meditation and psychedelic awe, these artists and their occasionally overwhelming creations seem to tease magic from thin air, making work that floats and pulsates as if supplied by an unseen force. Each piece exacting a kind of visual dance with illusionistic qualities of surface and paint, our privilege is not so much to witness, as it is to participate.

158 NW 91st Street  •  Miami, Florida  33150  •  P 305 490 6906