Altered Vintage Postcard Collages by RI Artist Blend Old and New

Artist Jenny Brown brings new life to Newport’s old stories for Wayfinder Hotel interiors

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Local visual artist Jenny Brown, who infuses everyday mementos into her collage work, was recently recruited by The Wayfinder Hotel to contribute to their interior design concept. A Boston native who moved to Providence in 2008, Brown currently works out of her vintage paper-filled studio in Olneyville and has collaborated with retail brands like Alex & Ani and Anthropologie. Brown brings her lush style of found paper artifacts and saturated floral and sea creature imagery to The Wayfinder’s interiors, devised after many studio visits and collaborative sessions to test out different images and print styles. Her designs contribute to the hotel’s varied wall art, along with other pieces, like keycards and a collection of postcards.

Brown’s art embraces nonlinearity in captured images of plants, celestial sea flowers, sketchbook drawings, and physical mementos like photographs and antique papers. She seeks to offer new perspectives of found items with her mixed media art, which combines the processes of collection, curation, drawing, and collage that stem from her lifelong interest in antiquing. “Thrifted ephemera is usually the catalyst that begins the production of a piece, almost acting like a prompt for me to respond to visually,” explains Brown, whose recent work evokes a universe of marine life, caves, blooms, and stars.

Having grown up with a grandmother who was a professional artist, Brown’s childhood was filled with art supplies and creative projects, along with life-long encouragement in her artistic pursuits. “It took years of experimenting, and most importantly understanding why I was using these materials, for me to find the right path for using collage in my works in a meaningful way,” says Brown, who channels a variety of mediums that make her art unique. “Both the rich history and abundant natural beauty of Newport inspired my works for The Wayfinder,” she explains, describing her process of thrifting old postcards for the collaboration. The work is meant to honor Newport’s history portrayed in the postcards, while also bringing a new narrative to it. The postcards, available for purchase exclusively at the hotel, are embellished with paper florals that pay tribute to that “beautiful corner of Rhode Island.” Beyond what’s on display at The Wayfinder, find original prints for purchase at Studio Lore, Providence, Wild Flow Yoga & Barre, North Kingstown, or online.

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