Jenny Gummersall makes the ordinary look extraordinary. Through her camera she uncovers a fantasy, a story, a dream. Her lens captures the American West, the land where she lives and works, and the landscape she travels with her artist husband C. Gregory Gummerall. It’s a physical landscape and an otherworldly landscape.

Gummersall’s photographs are highly formal, yet equally concerned with subject and the idea communicated. In this series, the horse represents those things about the American West that Jenny embraces: wide open spaces where bricks and mortar do not stop her eye; opportunity to pursue her own vision; endless adventure; and being the pioneer of her own creative world. Jenny’s horse is a toy and through that toy she reminds us to play, to tap into our creative spirit, to lay bare our dreams. 

The toy horse in Gummersall’s work is a signifier of cultural myth much in the same way that photographer David Levinthal presents toys as evocations of childhood. But some of the backgrounds in Jenny’s photographs remind one of the abstract and expressionistic work of Aaron Siskind, the found objects in nature and architecture that provide a palette upon which to place this toy horse. And other photos in the series seem inspired by the still life work of Irving Penn. 

It is no happy accident that her toy horse is an Appaloosa, the American Indian power pony. The horse is a potent talisman and represents power, freedom, and grace. A horse is a symbol of friendship and can influence stamina, turn burdens into victories, and provide protection for the home. It’s no wonder that Jenny is drawn to the horse and that this toy horse has inspired Horse Dreams. 

These images reflect life’s voyage and include the good, the bad, and the hilarious. Jenny encourages us to dream, fantasize, and tap into our playful spirit as we journey into these images and find that magical place within us all.

Leanne Goebel
International Art Critics Association
-Recipient of the 2008 Andy Warhol writers grant