Janice Essick | This is a Picture that Janice Made

Interact is pleased to present This is a Picture that Janice Made, the first solo exhibition by Janice Essick (b. 1958), a painter whose deeply emotive work captures the vigor and resolve of her subjects. Essick, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has practiced at Interact since 2005. Drawn from personal history as well as invention, her paintings of women, men, horses, cityscapes, and color compose a personal iconography that spans her seventeen-year career at Interact. This is a Picture that Janice Made features 35 drawings and paintings from her extensive archive. 

Essick’s work is simultaneously boundless and expressive, intimate and compelling. She is an ardent recorder of people, both in groups and alone, showing dramatic faces and personal style. Working intuitively and incessantly, Essick adds layers of medium until a piece looks right. In the studio, she surrounds herself with reference books, markers, and paints, a spread of images and media to choose from. 

Essick paints fearlessly and hopes that viewers will feel “happy, pretty, and all of that” when experiencing her work. “I think I did a good job,” she says of the exhibition. “I hope people like it.” 

Content Warning | This is a Picture that Janice Made includes four pieces from a series that Janice Essick made in Summer 2020. Essick made this work in response to the social uprising that took place in Minnesota and beyond. Three of these works portray violence and may be triggering for some audiences. 

View online at gallery.interactcenter.org 

Visit in person by appointment: calendly.com/interact-gallery  

About Interact Center for Visual & Performing Arts 

Interact is a progressive visual arts studio and theater company whose work challenges perceptions of disability. Since 1996, Interact has worked to advance the recognition of over 120 professional working artists, uniting disparate artistic identities, abilities, and backgrounds in the spirit of radical inclusion. 

Accessibility 

Interact strives to make its programs a welcoming and accessible experience for all. If there is something that we can do to make it easier to experience an exhibition, please contact us at gallery@interactcenter.com. We welcome all suggestions and requests. 

Image: Janice Essick, Untitled (Figure with Blue Hair), 2018, acrylic on paper, 12.5 x 19 inches