Ain’t We Got Fun

The large-format works of the American artist Jen Ray transport their viewers into a surreal universe where Amazonian women rule, militants move across dystopian landscapes, and magic spaces are occupied by rebels and provocateurs. The mystical realism of her images is reminiscent of the worlds created by Alejandro Jodorowsky or Moebius and those featured in traditional Japanese prints and Manga culture. Her art has been shown in museums and galleries in cities including New York, Berlin, and Paris. The attractive women in the focus of Jen Ray’s signature landscapes represent power and self-determination. The figures in her artwork, who are surrounded by a vast, white nothingness, clearly reflect a distance to and innocence of the larger world. The post-apocalyptic scenes set a haunting mood suggestive of a deserted amusement park. Ain’t We Got Fun is an overview of art created by Jen Ray over the past seven years that includes drawings and performances as well as new works. The book features an interview with the artist by Ana Finel Honigman and an essay by curator Robbert Roos.