Capitan, Vernal Sky, 2023, acrylic and iridescent pigments on canvas 44 x 36 in. (111.8 x 91.4 cm)
In Jessica Cannon’s paintings, patterns radiate from central foci evocative of daybreak over a distant horizon. Read in another way, the gradient beams meld into near total abstraction, evoking a meditative awareness of consciousness or spiritual awakening. These “inner worlds,” both expressed in the formal composition and through her labor-intensive process of sketching and color-testing, are shaped by light, space, geometry, and lived experiences. Cannon’s glowing paintings evoke the spiritualist meditations of Agnes Pelton or Emma Kunz, whose atmospheric depictions of space and depth met sacred geometry and expressions of energy and movement, both in the mind and as a visual representation of energy.