Jen Dwyer: Embracing Femininity Through Whimsical & Wonderfully Strange Sculptures
Based in New England, artist Jen Dwyer is known for her whimsical, surreal ceramic sculptures and paintings. Often incorporating the female figure into her work, Dwyer responds to the ways in which the female form has been commodified throughout history.
How did your creative journey begin?
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved art; it was always the subject I looked forward to in school. My mom was really great about signing my brother and I up for after-school art classes. I also have a learning and reading disability, so my high school art classes—especially ceramics— were the only subjects that I naturally excelled at. While other subjects were quite challenging, in art classes, I felt like I was able to create a visual language of my own. Art became my safe haven and a place I was able to thrive in.
How do I find inspiration for my work?
Prior to grad school my inspiration was pretty intuitive, drawing on my own experiences, things I listened to, read, saw,etc. I was inspired by funk ceramic artists, who also worked from their intuition. Their movement originated in the Bay Area where I grew up, so it was a part of the cultural landscape I was exposed to from a young age. Those artists also used humor in their practice, which I also find to be a helpful tool when engaging in more controversial topics, particularly related to gender.
Later, as an MFA student at a research-based institution, I took quite a few art history classes and received a minor in general studies, which opened me to new sources of inspiration. This is when my interest in the history of clay began. I was and still am particularly fascinated with the 18th century Rococo aesthetic, the height of the porcelain fetish in Europe. Europe was obsessed with Asia’s porcelain aesthetic and did everything in their power to copy it. I became really interested in the commodification and strong desire of porcelain throughout history, and saw a parallel to the ways that contemporary advertising commodifies womens’ bodies. These stories of commodification of porcelain, clay and female bodies are something I thought a lot about when creating work in grad school, and continue to incorporate today.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
In some ways I feel like my work has shifted a lot, but then when I look back at my high school art, which features a lot of anthropomorphized vases, I see a lot of parallels with my work today. With every year, having new life experiences and researching different art movements, my work grows. A more formal shift that has happened in my practice in the past few years has been incorporating oil painting. I find that painting is a nice compliment to ceramic sculpture because the results are so immediate and easy to change at any moment, unlike clay, which can be such a risky business— it enters the kiln and risks shattering if conditions aren’t just right. I’ve enjoyed discovering how oil painting can be a less stressful process, and a nice compliment to ceramics, which feels more high stakes at times.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I wake up and like to meditate and exercise and then do some computer work for about an hour, and then clean the studio, which is something that has been a really nice morning ritual. Then I will work in the studio from about 12-8 (actually more like 9 ha- I can be a bit of a studio hermit) but I take walk breaks with my puppy, call a friend, have a nice meal, etc.
Also a year and a half ago, I bought a 19th century old farm house that I’m slowly but surely converting into my studio. From 2016-2021 my studio practice was really transient; I moved studios often from residencies to grad school to a fellowship in upstate New York- during which I did a studio visit with Leah Guadanoli. After seeing her live/ work church space in the Hudson Valley I was really inspired to start my own studio. My current and hopefully long term studio is in New England. I’ve started painting outside recently, which is something I really love doing; it’s a treat to get out of the studio and into a new environment.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
A variety of experiences. I have moved around a lot in the past 6 six years, like I mentioned, for different residencies and school, and in each new environment I was definitely impacted by my surroundings. Up until recently, I’ve been inspired by the whimsical celebratory nature of rococo, the uncanny feeling of surrealism and the relatability of pop art, but most recently I’ve been really impacted by my new environment in New England. So most recently I’ve been inspired by the female painters in the Hudson Valley River School, such as Julie Hart Beers and Susie M. Barstow which has been an exciting new addition to my practice. And there’s certainly some experiences of past trauma and the dissociation that has come with that, that has impacted my work. There are so many reasons I love art, but I especially love that it can be an umbrella for so many interests and passions in one place. I find that art is a way for me to merge my interests in health and wellness, art history, female empowerment, nature, fashion and healing.
How has social media impacted your art career?
I went to grad school in the midwest at University of Notre Dame so social media became a very helpful tool in connecting with others, and still is. I’m sure like many artists, I have a complicated relationship with social media. However I’ve found it can help democratize space, making it possible to do virtual studio visits with galleries and share my work online with collectors and also connect with other artists. I’ve made a couple of close friends through instagram by reaching out to them for studio visits, and our in-person relationships are growing from there.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
Oh gosh so many. I think first and foremost, living a comfortable life as a full time artist has always been my dream, and each year things grow, but it can be hard to be patient and remember that things don’t just grow overnight. Keeping a ‘miracle list’ for all the amazing art things that have come my way has been really helpful. I also am excited about starting a mini class and platform about savings and planning ahead for creatives. As unsexy as budgeting and saving sounds, simply paying attention to numbers that I’m spending and earning has been so helpful in lowering my anxiety and helping my overall mental wellness. And in the studio, I’m really excited to continue developing this new body of work thatI started in 2017 when I was in school. I felt like a black sheep in my program, making bold feminist work, but now that I’m living out in the country I am excited to continue deeping this collection and go even bigger. I also am obsessed with vases again. I've been making them for years but I’m really excited about the last two that I made for a show that opens on October 7th in Marfa Texas at Jeff Marfa Gallery.
Website: www.jen-dwyer.com
Instagram: @jen_dwyer_