Lee Ann Norman interviews painter Jennifer Packer whose show Tenderheaded is on view at the Renaissance Society, University of Chicago through November 5, 2017.

Packer comments: “I’ve been interested for a long time in how I present or protect humans in the work. It’s not figures, not bodies, but humans I am painting. I want to know how to present a personal relationship without damaging the individual or putting them in harm’s way… I’m trying to figure out how to make logical decisions that are also deeply emotional. I’m looking for opportunities to describe how I think and feel, without breaking away from realism to do it.”