Experiencing Jennifer Elster’s “Retrospective of an Extroverted Recluse Part One”

Elster is a thinker, artist, filmmaker, writer, photographer, performer and founder of The Development, a private underground studio based in New York. For years, she worked out of the public eye and this exhibition acted as a multi-part retrospective, regrouping a large body of her work that includes installations, paintings, films, and photographs.

The night of the opening on May 12, the artist took part in several touching performances alongside musicians throughout the pop-up Tribeca space. As a viewer that evening, she brought us into her world: one that was strong, intimate, powerful, emotional, sensitive. At times Elster was crying, laughing, smiling, or playing with her child. It was obvious she is a passionate woman, fully dedicated to her art.

Of the opening Elster said, “[It] was magnificently meaningful. An evening of complete surrender as a performer. I felt safe being utterly vulnerable, in front of, and with the audience. I exposed the barest of my soul. Raw feeling. So many tender and jagged moments within this wildly impromptu orchestration of performances, while the work being exhibited was mentally provoking. It was very alive. Sophisticated, real and gutting at times. A complete surrender. Exquisite.”