Jennifer Kling

Nutshells
ceramic
10 x 10 in.
$350

I am an artist, a caregiver, and a student of nature. I am a mixed media artist who addresses themes of resilience, transience, corporality, and transcendence. Driven by interests ranging from the natural world to mystical poetry and modern continental philosophy, I find myself exploring new paradigms. My sculptures embody a spiritual tone and take inspiration from writers such as Kierkegaard, Caputo and Derrida. My artistic process typically starts with a physical encounter with the environment which captivates me. Through sculpture involving a variety of media such as photography, textiles and ceramics, my work unfolds. A spirit of discovery drives me, through my work, to a new understanding of my relationship to the world around me.

In terms of formal concerns, I find myself gravitating toward texture, color, scale, and repetition to communicate with the viewer. My work is laced with a modern spirituality and instilled with a sense of awe. In conclusion, my work bears the stamp of my life experiences, including the death of my firstborn daughter. I understand that despite the very personal nature of my own losses; the loss experience, itself, is universal. I construct imagery which speaks about unspeakable truths. I face harsh realities head on and tenderly re-frame them. In doing so, I help construct a world which is becoming unshakably strong. As I construct my work, I rebuild myself, just as thoughts, words, and images, can continually construct, carefully deconstruct, and begin to reconstruct our world.

© Jennifer Kling