Biography

Jenny Kanzler, b. 1975 is an American painter of German and Eastern European descent. Her subject matter centers on tragicomic narratives, employing the uncanny to explore fear and humor through visual metaphor and folklore.

Kanzler holds an MFA in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (2005) and a BA in Sculpture from Syracuse University (1997). She has exhibited at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery; The Painting Center in NYC; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Museum as well as the Rodger LaPelle Gallery in Philadelphia. 

She was twice nominated for a Louis Comfort Tiffany Biennial Award; once for a MacArthur Fellowship as well as a Daedlus Foundation Grant; and has been curated and juried into the following gallery and museum shows:

EXHIBITIONS

2019: Contortion: Melodrama and the Figure (with David Ibata, Melissa Ichiuji, and Rives Wiley), Curator: Spencer Dormitzer, Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, MD

2017: Hindsight: Four Alumni Artists from the College of Visual and Performing Arts (with Sarah Provoncha Burda, Angela Earley, and Maggy Rozycki Hiltner), Curator: , Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

2014: Kanzler & Mulligan (with Katherine Mulligan), Curator: Tish Ingersoll, PAFA Alumni Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2012: Working for Sea People, based on story by Abram Lynch, Curator: Gavin Hecker, PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA

2012: So Inappropriate, Jenny Kanzler, Curator: Kris Strawser, President’s Office, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2010: Mother May I (Window Installation), Curator: Ed Waisnis, Rosenwald‐Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2008: It's Dark in There, Curator: Katie Claiborne, Elliot Center Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC

2007: Creepy Sweet, Curator: Greg Kelly, Kelly and Weber Fine Art/201 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2007: Pull Lever Down (Window Installation), Curator: Ed Waisnis, Rosenwald‐Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Selected Group Exhibitions

2016: Art at Kings Oakes: Curator: Alex Cohen, Newtown, PA

2016: We do…, Curator: Jeanine Leclaire, Rodger LaPelle Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

2016: Flesh, Curator: Jeanine Leclaire, Ellipsis Art Salon, Philadelphia, PA

2016: Alchemical Vessels, Invited by Spencer Dormitzer, Joan Hisaoka Gallery, Washington, DC

2015: Perspective, Curator: Cory Oberderfer, Hillyer Art Space, Washington, DC

2015: Privacy Made Public, Curator: Alex Cohen, New Hope Arts Center, New Hope, PA

2014: I Am What I Make, Curators: Alex Gartelmann & Jonas Sebura, Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City, MO

2012: Philly Style, Curator: Rodger LaPelle, Rodger LaPelle Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

2011: Pictures of the Body, Curator: Robert Cozzolino, PAFA Museum, Philadelphia, PA

2011: Elephant’s Eye Tour (Visiting Artist), Curator: Alex Cohen, Magpie Studio, Bucks County, PA

2011: On the Move, Curator: Rodger LaPelle, Rodger LaPelle Galleries, Philadelphia, PA

2011: Philamythos, Curator: Alex Stanton, PhilaMOCA, Philadelphia, PA

2010: Philadelphia Painters, Curator: Matthew Farina, The Painting Center, New York, NY

2010: Child's Play, Curator: Nicole Buckingham, CCBC Institute of Art, Design and Interactive Media, Baltimore, MD

2010: This is the Only Place that can Save My Heart, Curator: Alex Gartelmann, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2009: The Sweet Show, Curator: Cynthia Nibler, Phyllis Stein Art, Los Angeles, CA

2009: Exquisite Corpse, Curator: Anonda Bell, Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

2009: It's Just Like I Never Stopped Being There, Curator: Alex Gartelmann, My House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2008: Seven Deadly Sins, Curator: Julie Cavnor, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

2008: 35th Annual Exhibition, Curator: Carole Robb, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA

2007: Sugar Buzz, Curator: Susan Hoeltzel with Nina Sundell, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY

2007: i cannot remember, Curator: Alison Nastasi, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2006: Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Press/Publications

press

2019: In the Galleries, The Washington Post, October 11

2012: Film Review: Working for Sea People, MakeItMag, Issue 4

2011: Interview, Jenny Kanzler: Epic Childhood, Alex Cohen for The Beard and Brush, August 12

2009: Review, Decadent feast, calorie‐free, Mary MacVean,LA Times Daily Dish, April 7

2009: Feature, Morphology issue, (Don't be) Spinelessliterary journal, issue 4, volume 1

2008: Film Interview: Studioscopic, documentary project created by David S. Kessler, uwishunu January 21

2007: Interview, Artist of the Week, What to Wear During an Orange Alert? (cultural blog), Jason Behrends, October 1‐5

2007: Review, the a‐list: Jenny Kanzler: Creepy Sweet, Review by Roberta Fallon, Philadelphia Weekly, March 28‐April 3

2007: Review, Look!, Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof artblog/podcast, Producer/Director: David S. Kessler, April

2006: Feature, New American Paintings, Mid Atlantic Edition, May/June

2005: Image, The Philadelphia Daily News, December 13