Jessie Homer French's Venice Biennale Recognition Showcases Her Hollywood-Inspired Paintings of Grief and Ecology

Jessie Homer French, a self-taught artist from California in her eighties, captured public interest when seven of her paintings were showcased at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Her faux-naif artwork delves into topics such as death, grief, and environmental destruction, featuring notable pieces like 'Mojave Stealth Bombers' (2013), 'Burning' (2020), and 'Oil Platform Fire' (2019). Since 1976, she has exhibited at Various Small Fires in Los Angeles and Dublin's Mother's Tankstation, with a recent showing at Massimo De Carlo in Milan. Following the passing of her husband, Robin French, a Paramount production chief, in 2021, she continues to explore themes of mortality in works like 'Funeral' (1978) and 'The Deepest Grave' (2022), while residing in Coachella Valley and addressing ecological issues in 'Tilapia Dieoff in the Salton Sea' (2022).