Dubliner Jennifer Hart bids a bittersweet goodbye to Blackrock gallery after four years
Jennifer Hart is preparing leave her Blackrock art gallery this week, after four years in the Frascati Centre.
Following an early career in fashion, design and interiors, Jennifer’s artistic journey took a challenging turn following a stroke in her early 40s, shortly after the birth of her son.
At the time Jennifer had to relearn basic skills, including speech and coordination.
“I’ve always been into art, I always painted when I was little. There was not a time when I hadn’t had art in my life,” Jennifer said.
“I went to art college and did fashion and then, later again, I did an interior design course in London at the Chelsea College of Art.
“I came back here in 1996. I was painting glass and selling all over the world. Then I became pregnant and when my son was born on December 9, something wasn’t right.
“I was due to get a CT scan on January 25, but one of the midwives said ‘no, she needs it now’.
“Thank God for her because that’s when they recognised I had the stroke. That was five days after I gave birth, and it changed everything.
“It was an awful time. I had to rethink everything. I was a very sick woman. I lost a lot of my eyesight. I couldn’t go back to the glass.
“You don’t recover from a stroke; you just have to apply your life in a different way. I still have less sight. I would still have constant pain and lots of problems.
“You have to just get up, get on and just approach it in a very different way. After my son was born, I had to reinvent myself. I started painting.”
Jennifer is leaving her gallery in Blackrock on January 7
Jennifer loves the idea of creating an occasion for people visiting her gallery, making it a special event where they select a piece of art to commemorate a milestone.
She also represents local Irish artists and offers pieces by the Venetian glass sculptor, Andrea Salvagno, in her gallery.
She finds joy in the thought that each piece of art, whether hers or one of the artists she supports, continues its journey when it leaves her gallery.
“I like people to come into the gallery. I like them to see the painting before they buy it, and I like everybody to be happy about it. I love that whole human interaction aspect,” she said.
“Somebody said to me that I’m so lucky because, when I die, I would be remembered because you’d be in somebody’s sitting room and they’d be talking about your painting.
“I’ve never thought of it like that. My work is all over the world, in America, Japan, Australia, and all over Europe.
“I just think oh God, how do I get it wrapped, how do I get it through customs?
“I’m always learning and I keep challenging myself. If you don’t challenge yourself or you don’t try new stuff, you don’t develop as an artist.
“I think that’s fundamental and most important if you want to continue. So when I’m 105, I will be still developing as an artist.
“The highlight of my career so far has been selling paintings. That’s the buzz, selling a painting, opening the gallery, I did fashion shows too.”
Her lease is now up after four years in Blackrock’s Frascati centre, and Jennifer hopes to expand her horizons.
“My son, Alexander, turned 22 in December. He is a great young man. He was two when he started doing Stephen’s Green with me. He grew up with it,” she said.
A painting titled My Lady, by Jennifer Hart
“He’d be with me selling at the markets and doing shows since he was a baby. I’d put him under the table, he’d sleep or some of the other stall holders would take him.
“He’s not into art, but he has an amazing sense of colour, shape, and design. I knew that he was going to do engineering.
“We didn’t travel back then, I would never have been strong, and we never had the money, it wasn’t there.
“Now, my lease is up on the gallery but once one door closes, something always opens up. I think it’s now time for me to focus on my shows in the States.
“I have a show in New York in March and hopefully a show in Miami. It’s time now to go and enjoy it more because I had to go to make a living before for my family and my home.
“The gallery people I’m working with in New York, they have galleries in Argentina. I’d love to go to Argentina for a show. I’ll be going to Madrid and Berlin this year too,” she added.
