Jeffrey From

Jeffrey From was born in Yonkers, New York in 1993 and received his BA from Vassar College, New York in 2015. He currently exhibits exclusively for Martha’s Gallery in Austin, Texas.

Through the use of ballpoint pen and vellum, From skillfully presents mundane objects, made decadent by From’s touch, objects arranged in the historical format of the still life. Vellum is a delicate material, easy to rip, easy to push down too hard into, causing a tear. And the points of pens want to do this—it is From’s tender hand that keeps things intact. But the materials determine too: The waxed surface of the vellum absorbs the impact of the ball’s point, but resists the ink—leaving the blue iridescent.

The delicateness continues in the materials imaged: torn linen, the fleshes of various fruits, melted wax. All evoke a moment of tension—the linen, holding on by literal threads; the fruit, ready to be bruised; the wax and the imagination of it against one’s skin. All must be treated with care.