Jess Cross

Jess Cross is a contemporary realist painter and printmaker. Born in Freedom, Pennsylvania in 1981, Jess received her BFA in Painting from Salisbury University in 2004 and her MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2007. Since receiving her Master's Degree, she has been exhibiting her work nationally including solo shows in Philadelphia and Maryland and recent print work in the 2017 Wheaton Biannual in Massachusetts. Jess currently lives in Northern California.

Artist Statement



My paintings tell a story beyond the standard portrait by using projections of light to add another "layer" of information. The abstract imagery invites the viewer to relate to the subject on their own terms; the viewer must decipher the imagery, like a Rorschach Inkblot, seeing only what their unconscious informs them to see. You no longer have a portrait at face value, and through these portraits a universal mythos of experience can be tied back together between the viewer, subject, and me.

I started the "Goddess" series after the birth of my son, while trying to figure out how to balance being an artist and a mother. While considering this, I somehow linked my experience to that of a mythological goddess. As a goddess, you have to be...

Education2007 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia, PA MFA Art, Painting emphasis
2004 Salisbury University Salisbury, MDBFA Art, Painting emphasis
2000 - 2002 University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MDArt, New Genre

Recent Exhibitions
2023 “Faces and Figures” Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2022 “2022 National Fine Art Show” Lincoln Gallery, Loveland, CO
2022 “Emotions” Gallerium Art Exhibition and Publication, Online
“Human Faces and Figures” Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2021 “Collectors Choice”, Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD
2021 “Faculty Exhibition”, Salisbury University Art Galleries Downtown, Salisbury, MD
2020 “Printmaking Plus”, D’Art Gallery, Denver, CO
2019 “Perturbation”, Indiana University Art Gallery, Kokomo, IN
2019 “Methods”, Salisbury University Art Galleries Downtown, Salisbury, MD
2019 “Adorn Me”, Gallery at Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL
2019 “Paint Annapolis”, Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery, Annapolis, MD
2019 “Members Show”, Art Institute and Gallery, Salisbury, MD


2018 “Timeless Art” L’Atelier Berkshires Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2018 “Paint Snow Hill” Bishop's Stock Gallery, Snow Hill, MD
2018 “Viva La Femme”, L’Atelier Berkshires Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
2018 “Members Show”, Art Institute and Gallery, Salisbury, MD
2017 “Wheaton Biennial: Printmaking Reimagined”, Beard and Weil Galleries, Norton, MA
2017 “The Art of Ink”, Featured Printmaker, Ocean Ci...