What Do Spider Monkeys Dream Of? – Jena Seiler + Dehlia

Jena Seiler and Dehlia, spider monkey
What Do Spider Monkeys Dream Of?, 2026
Tempera, acrylic paint, acrylic glaze, and permanent marker on stretched canvas
20 x 10 inches 

Market Value: $1,000.00
https://jenaseiler.com

Using the colorful vertical canvas animated by spider monkey Dehlia, the Lexington-based artist and educator Jena Seiler created a work that alternates between abstraction and representation. Upon close inspection, a translucent tree branch with berries can be seen among the green and purple marks in the background that suggest petals of flowers.

Seiler is a lecturer in the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, and her art focuses on the everyday as a subject of inquiry and awe. She works across a variety of media and has had solo exhibitions at the Spiva Art Gallery in Joplin, Missouri; the Kitchen Table Gallery in Philadelphia; and the Majestic Gallery in Nelsonville, Ohio. Her collaborative film projects with Tijah Bumgarner have won numerous awards.

Dehlia can be heard squealing with delight each morning when breakfast arrives. She is a fairly shy monkey but is very chatty with her spider monkey companions, including Chester and Bisou, who helped her with this painting.

About the artwork: The first photo shows the completed collaboration being auctioned. The second shows the original primate painting before Seiler added her contributions. Both images depict the same canvas; only the completed artwork is included.