Meet Jenni Pirmann | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenni Pirmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenni, why did you pursue a creative career?
In the film about Van Gogh, “At Eternity’s Gate”, his character said, “In order to be a painter you must be absolutely incapable of doing anything else.” I don’t know if he said this in real life or not but hearing it gave me such a sense of validation. I have spent time exploring a few other career paths and, not for a lack of skill or success, I didn’t quite feel right until I allowed myself to stop searching for ways to not be an artist.
I pursue a creative career because everything inside of me rejects doing anything but that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As an artist, I am continuously most proud and excited about my future paintings that don’t exist yet. I don’t know what they will look like but I always imagine that they will hold some magic presence that I dream of capturing. Which leads to where I’ve learned my most significant lessons and found my biggest challenges.

Leaving art school, I believed that being an artist would look like having a studio space in some cool warehouse building, traveling for artist residencies, and building a large body of work which would lead up to attending grad school. In reality, I was working at Anthropologie doing in store displays and not painting very much at all. The artist me didn’t feel like it fit in with real world me or maybe that person was too afraid of being seen to make anything.

I went long periods of time not painting, which left me feeling unhappy and out of touch with myself. There was a lot of resistance and struggle. Once the discomfort of not painting became intolerable, I started to just paint anything and everything. I was able to let go of outside standards and boundaries around what is “good art” and made piles of work. It was pretty awful and I’d never show anyone today, but that’s not the point.
I learned that instead of hoping to create a work that will finally encompass all that you’ve ever wanted to say, just make something a little different than the last thing. I think your style kind of lands on you. After changing minor things thousands of times, bit by bit your work starts to become more you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This probably isn’t the answer you’d be looking for, but I’d take them to my home which is also my studio. I’d make us some tea and we’d probably sit on the floor looking at books and art. Home is my favorite place to be in Phoenix, but if we had to go out we would see what art is on display at the Grant Street Studios, get drinks at Cha Cha’s, dinner at Hana, and if its a really good day maybe we’ll get our auras photographed at Phoenix Rising.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe being an artist to my mother. She’s a strong believer in having fun and doing what you love as much as possible in life. Growing up, she handled the unique obstacles I brought to her extremely well, from needing someone to fix the noses on my portraits in grade school to helping me package orders after my first big holiday season. She encouraged my dreams when I thought they were silly. As for the artist I am today, my boyfriend Ben deserves much recognition. His standard for excellence pushes everyone around him to do better, and being with him continues to help me transform my work into something I’m really proud of. The support of the people in my life has allowed me to follow a unique career path.

Website: http://www.jennipirmann.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jennipirmann_art

Image Credits
@emilykat_photo