STATEMENT
In my practice I use otherworldly animals crafted in kitsch styles to touch on my own traumas and experiences, drawing on the tension between playfulness and discomfort. I combine figurative sculpture, textiles, ceramics, and other multimedia forms to speak to ‘craft.’ Since I was a young artist, I have been drawn to processes that have been culturally defined as less valuable or have been associated with women’s work. I was unaware of the stigmas placed on craft related works in areas until I was much older when I immersed myself in the art world, specifically in textiles. I draw from the aesthetics of kitsch to raise questions of the value of craft and the value of myself in my identity as a woman. I create animals, furniture, and planters that exist in their own world and reject reality, playing with the ideas of function and disfunction, as well as calming and uncomfortable.
I’m influenced by fantastical books like the Wizard of Oz series as well as books like Alice in Wonderland and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. They use world building as a middleman to talk about deeply rooted critiques on society. I work in a non-linear process and am often intuitively drawn to passive animals for reasons that become clearer as I work. These passive animals are tied to sexuality and femininity as well as sacrifice and victimization, which are reoccurring themes in my work.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
-THE BEAUTIFUL MIND (GFAA GALLERY) CURATED BY KATY LEMLE, GAINESVILLE, FL- JULY 2022
-EMOTIONS (GALLERIUM ONLINE) CURATED BY BIAFARIAN, VIRTUAL, - DECEMBER 2021
-GAINESVILLE NOMADIC ART MARKET (FOREMOST GALLERY) CURATED BY KAYLA BURNETT, GAINESVILLE, FL- APRIL 2021
-SEND NUDES (MOISTURIZER GALLERY) CURATED BY BRIELLE JENKINS, GAINESVILLE, FL – NOVEMBER 2020
- ICPP.TV (FOREMOST GALLERY) CURATED BY ASHLEY ORTIZ-DIAZ — APRIL 2020
- SACC JURIED EXHIBITION (UNIVERSITY GALLERY); CURATED BY LORENZO TRIBURGO, GAINESVILLE, FL — MARCH 2020
- RAINBOW CONNECTION (UF GALLERY); CURATED BY LISA INGLESIAS, GAINESVILLE, FL— FEBRUARY 2020
- AFTERSCHOOL SNACCCCCCCCC (MOISTURIZER GALLERY); CURATED BY MAG BRAUER, GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2019
- DAMN v. 2 (FOREMOST GALLERY); CURATED BY ASHLEY ORTIZ-DIAZ, GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2019
- ART BASH WINDOW; CURATED BY INDIA BROOKS, GAINESVILLE, FL — FALL 2019
- STUDIOLAB (LIBBY GALLERY); CURATED BY SEAN MILLER, GAINESVILLE FL — SPRING 2019
- ART BASH; GAINESVILLE, FL — FALL 2019
- TRANSNATURAL SHOW (FOREMOST GALLERY); CURATED BY SUE MONTOYA, GAINESVILLE FL — JANUARY 2019
- SIGNAL FLO (SL8 GALLERY); CURATED BY NIC SILVESTRIS, GAINESVILLE, FL / ST AUGUSTINE, FL — DECEMBER 2018-19
- 2GUDHOTDAMN (FOREMOST GALLERY); CURATED BY SUE MONTOYA, GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2018
- TEDX ART SHOWCASE (FIRST MAG BREWERY); CURATED BY TEDX, GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2018
- ART BASH; GAINESVILLE, FL — FALL 2018
- ART BASH; GAINESVILLE, FL — FALL 2017
- ART BASH; GAINESVILLE, FL — SPRING 2017
- FOREMOST GALLERY WINDOW; CURATED BY JUAN GRIEGO, GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2016
- WARP SHOW (WARPHAUS GALLERY); CURATED BY BETHANY TAYLOR; GAINESVILLE, FL — DECEMBER 2016
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- SORRY YOU AREN'T INVITED, SOLO EXHIBITION BY JENNIFER MCCLOSKEY (FOREMOST GALLERY) CURATED BY MORGAN YACOE; GAINESVILLE, FL - FEBRUARY 2021
- HOME SWEET HOME, SOLO EXHIBITION, (GFAA GALLERY) CURATED BY KATY LEMLE; GAINESVILLE, FL— APRIL 2020
EDUCATION
BFA— CUM LAUDE -- UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA — 2020
MA- CURRENT ENROLLMENT- PROJECTED TO GRADUATE 2023
AWARDS
DEAN’S LIST - 2018-20
UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR RECIPIENT - 2019-20
SKILLS
SCULPTURE, CERAMICS, VISUAL ARTS, WOODWORKING, SEWING, MIXED MEDIA, MOLD-MAKING, PRINTMAKING (SCREENPRINTING, INTAGLIO, WOOD), HORTICULTURE, LASER CUTTING, 3D PRINTING, UPHOLSTERY
PROFECIENCY
ADOBE SUITE (ILLUSTRATOR, PHOTOSHOP, PREMIERE, INDESIGN, LIGHTROOM), MAYA, SUBSTANCE, BLENDER, RHINO, FINAL CUT, AUDACITY. SOME EXPERIENCE IN CODING IN C++ AND JAVA.
WORK EXPERIENCE
- WOODSHOP ASSISTANT TO MONITOR (2018-20) – ASSISTED STUDENTS WITH ART PROJECTS AND HELPED TEACH SPECIFIC SKILLS IN RELATION TO USING TOOLS AND MACHINERY
- FREE LANCE ARTIST (2017-21) WORK EXTENDS FROM DIGITAL DRAWINGS, UPHOLSTERY PROJECTS, TO BRANDING/LOGO DESIGNS. SMALL SCALE PROJECTS FOR MORE LOCAL BUSINESSES. CURRENTLY BRANDING FOR TWO TWITCH STREAMERS (EVILRAT69 and ILLIADLIVE.TV).
- PRIVATE BETA TESTER AND 'BUG SQUASHER' (2020-21) FOR SERIN FATE UNDER VETHERGEN AND CRYTIVO.
- INTERN 3D MODELER FDAAF FOR UPCOMING PROJECT 'CHANGED' (2020-21)