Circumference

Acrylic on canvas, 24 in x 20 in x 1.5, 2025

I created this piece shortly after the change in administration, when chaos became the every day experience. I was craving calm, quiet, and peace. This landscape arrived in that space to restore balance and harmony.

Jen Monteleone is a contemporary abstract painter whose intuitive, high-vibrational canvases navigate the complex architecture of transformation, social justice, and rebirth. Rooted in her perspective as an adoptee, Monteleone’s studio practice functions as a visceral excavation of identity, belonging, and self-worth. She builds dense, tactile surfaces through a compounding choreography of saturated color, raw texture, and illustrative, gestural mark-making—a physical manifestation of personal evolution playing out on the canvas in real time. Each piece acts as a visual prompt for the viewer to decompress, holding space for quiet introspection and peace.

Jen retired from a 30-year career in nonprofit leadership and leaned into her authenticity as an artist three years ago. She began painting during the pandemic as a way to find balance and healing. After growing a collection of over 80 completed canvases, Jen held her first solo pop-up gallery in June 2024. Since then, her work has been shown at Art Walk Edmonds - Coldwell Banker Bain, Cafe Louvre, Frances Anderson Center Gallery, Bequest Coffee, and Moonrise Studios.