Jen Grey (aka JEN ZEN ®)

Professor Jen Grey teaches in the Drawing and Painting Figurative Track at California State University Long Beach, 1975 - present. Prof. Grey has numerous art commissions, exhibitions, grants, awards and publications to her credit, including the National Endowment for the Arts Award to Individual Artists, Fulbright Teacher Exchange and Creative Service Grant, and the Professional Artists Fellowship sponsored by Public Corporation for the Arts. Jen Grey currently works with computer generated imagery (CGI) under the registered trademark JEN ZEN®. Since 1999, JEN ZEN® has exhibited work around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) inspires the work, which relies on both standard and proprietary software systems to push boundaries between the real and imagined world.

Education:

• 1969-71 James Scholar, Graphic Design, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA
• 1971-73 BFA Suma Cum Laude, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, USA
• 1973-75 MFA, Hoffberger Fellowship Program in Drawing and Painting , The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, USA

JEN ZEN ® creating ‘Rockman’, a 3D ‘Cyber-Touch’ Figure
Proprietary Software: Surface Drawing by Steven Schkolne
Hardware: CalTech Workbench, CrystalEyes, CyberGlove, PC and Linux Systems

"Centaur" by JEN ZEN ®
(3D CGI)
Proprietary Software: Surface Drawing by Steven Schkolne
Standard Software: Bryce, PhotoShop and Painter V

The mythical Centaur bridges the age of men and giants, as Cyborgs now bridge the age of Human and Artificial Intelligence. A stunning work of hyper-realistic fiction, the Centaur affords poignant speculation on the paradoxical nature of life on earth. The Centaur was created with a Cyberglove linked to the proprietary Surface Drawing software developed by Steven Schkolne. The artist began by tracing her own body, then spontaneously freehand drawing the creature as a life-sized entity in the virtual 3D immersive space of the Caltech Workbench. The desert landscape was hand-painted with a mouse in PhotoShop and Painter V, using old school methods applied to new tech tools.

"Omega" by JEN ZEN ®
(2D CGI)
Software: PhotoShop 5.5 and MetaCreations Painter 6.0

Omega generates a fascinating sense of 'epoch', a stillness of mind in timeless rapture. Metaphysical aspects of Qi, mystery, reverence and beauty are revealed in the creative process. Hand-painted with a mouse and custom-tool palettes created in PhotoShop and MetaCreations, JEN ZEN ® questions the substance of illusion and the nature of visionary material existence.

Contact: jgrey [AT] csulb.edu