An artist’s house is never just a house. Framed paintings and collages decorate every wall of David Jenowe’s residence, winding up the staircase toward his master bedroom-turned studio. As his eyes sweep over his studio walls, they meet the gaze of a silent observer: a photograph of artist Peter Dean, a luminary of the Rhino Horn group in 1970s New York City. Dean’s watchful eyes serve as inspiration; a witness to the evolution of Jenowe’s style over time. In this house lives an artistic legacy, one inherited from his father, whose passion similarly adorned their childhood home.
Jenowe passed this torch to his son, Jack, now 20. Together, they create the “Knalbtown Scroll”—a world of free-association cartoons spanning 110 feet of newsprint paper from the Omaha World-Herald. The scroll embodies years of shared laughter at the living room table. Jack’s childhood self-portrait hangs in the kitchen, while an enlarged doodle, painted and framed by Jenowe, hangs above the staircase—early tributes to his son’s talent and the artistic spirit nurtured within these walls.
With such a personal passion, Jenowe’s day job as a letter carrier with the US Postal Service seems worlds apart from his artistic endeavors. Yet, juxtaposing the routine of daily mail rounds in Omaha, his art often takes him to international showcases. Jenowe considers his letter carrier role completely separate from his art, finding it allows him to create without undue stress.
“When I get home, I don’t think about my job at all,” he laughed. “It allows me to pay my bills and make money for my paint and materials—it frees my mind up for creativity.”
Jenowe’s artistic journey first brought him to Omaha in 1997, where his father’s Lakin Jones Gallery served as a platform for showcasing his work alongside the Rhino Horn group’s pieces.
Although the gallery closed its doors that same year, Jenowe remained in Omaha. A brief interlude in Delaware, where Jenowe welcomed the birth of his son, was also where he began working as a letter carrier—a role he has held since his return to Omaha in 2003. Primarily an oil and acrylic painter, Jenowe’s style today is rooted in abstract expressionism—a nod to the collection his father amassed from Rhino Horn.
“There’s a rhythm to it, like jazz music—each piece tells me what to do, and I try to listen to what it wants,” Jenowe said. “Sometimes I’ll start off with an idea and the piece will change as I’m working on it.”
While Jenowe resides in Omaha, his international presence stems from the Global Art Project (GAP) and the 10dence platform. Founded by Carl Heyward, GAP is a worldwide collective to unite mixed-media artists, allowing Jenowe to showcase works focusing on collages in countries like Belgium, France, Spain, and Argentina.
“I see collages as freeing, relatively fast exercises,” he explained. “The challenge with GAP is that the ideas for those collages are coming from them, so it’s a mental exercise of incorporating someone else into my work.”
“David’s engagement with GAP has been a story of shared growth and artistic vision, fostered through our connections on social media,” Christopher Padgett Hunnicutt, the fellow artist who first introduced GAP to Jenowe, said. “His oeuvre is a testament to his ongoing commitment to pushing the boundaries of visual and thematic exploration.”
Jenowe’s affiliation with the 10dence platform, spearheaded by Dutch artist Ron Weijers, also gives him travel-exhibition projects that promote contemporary art. Jenowe and other international artists represented by Weijers participate in themed shows while maintaining their distinctive styles.
Jenowe recently traveled to Ghent, Belgium, for “The Anatomy Lesson Revisited” show as part of CrossingBorders, a joint venture of GAP and 10dence. The Rembrandt-inspired exhibition took place at the Campo Santo, a Roman Catholic public burial ground in Sint-Amandsberg.
“David’s work is a journey across thematic and geographic frontiers,” Hunnicutt added. “His creations do not merely cross borders; they challenge and expand the boundaries of conventional and contemporary art.”
Abstract expressionism shapes Jenowe’s approach to each piece. Its openness to interpretation is a quality he also enjoys about the glitch art that he experiments with in between paintings and collages. This art focuses on using digital or analog errors, or the glitches, as an integral part of the work. To him, glitches hold a particular allure for their capacity to distort. His latest sleep paralysis-inspired painting embodies this passion, representing his interpretation of fantasy and mystery.
“The only way I direct someone’s vision in a work like this is with the title—there’s one reality, and behind it is another,” Jenowe explained. “‘I’m interested in where we’re going with AI and VR.”
Still, Jenowe values the organic process of painting, finding magic in the tangible creation of his pieces. In addition to his global endeavors, he remains connected to Omaha’s art scene, engaging in events like Friday2 on Vinton Street.
“Being an artist is mostly a solitary journey, but being an Omaha artist means I want to connect with others here and see what my community is doing,” Jenowe said. Running the Benson Art Gallery two years ago facilitated many of his connections with local artists.
He now looks forward to upcoming 10dence shows and to collaborating with Jack and his ex-wife, Julie, for “The Jenowe Show” exhibition at Ming Toy Gallery in November, all while continuing his mail rounds for stability.
“My mail rounds are a home base—literally—so that I can enjoy art,” Jenowe explained. “Some days I want to make cartoons and be silly, and some days, I want to be serious and dark. I can do anything, and nobody’s going to tell me I shouldn’t.
“You have to be willing to not make money on art—it shouldn’t be the driving factor, because the art will be compromised. Some people can do that, but I’ve never been happy that way.
Follow Jenowe’s work on Instagram @davejenowe.
This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
