Artists

Jeanne Jacob

Press release

Jeanne Jacob’s practice alternates and merges different media, including painting, performance, text, and drawing. Her work pulls from feminist queer theory and contemporary sociology to explore ideas of intimacy—both personal and relational. Her canvases have been described as “oil fables” (1), where personal stories, proverbs, literature, and art history unfold. The scenes and characters she portrays seem to be in constant movement, embodying the ever-changing ideals that shape our reality and relationships. Emotions and connections serve as a driving force, fuelling her exploration of identity and selfhood.

The exhibition’s title Alors on étend les racines reflects Jacob’s narrative approach. The use of alors on creates a conversational tone, emphasizing a collective experience. It suggests reaching deeper for nourishment—not just from visible, surface-level interactions but by tapping into connections that go beyond the surface. The reference to 'roots' also emphasizes the inclusion of one painting whose production spanned over 10 years, serving as a mean to address transformation from within. 

We could compare Jacob’s paintings to the ones of lesbian painters of our time such as Nicole Eisenman or Amy Sillman, not in the form but in its subjectivity. Following the reasoning of William J. Simmons in Queer Formalism: The Return (2), where the author attempts to define what Queer Formalism is—or rather, what it is not—he observes that "queer formalism" is not a rigid artistic style or movement with clear boundaries. Instead, it is a fluid and multifaceted approach that embraces contradictions and complexity. It emerges from the lived experiences of non-normative bodies—those that do not fit into conventional societal norms. These bodies develop a way of seeing and creating that combines love, skepticism, activism, and a playful freedom. In essence, queer formalism is an open, evolving process of making connections and expressing identity, one that is informed by a need to navigate, survive, and challenge the norms that society imposes.