jessiwohl@gmail.com
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Artist Statement
I make the invisible visible.
My practice of investigating and scrutinizing people, objects and domestic environments reveals hidden metaphors and interpretations of that which we cannot, or choose not, to see. Particularly drawn to portraiture and manicured homes, I exploit the uncanny while subverting domestic representations of perfection and happiness.
Conceptual strategies such as repeating, simulating, concealing, mutating and erasing induce a sense of discomfort. By employing tight boundaries, clean edges and sickly smiles, secret interiors are protected from the outside world.
These protective barriers are created through the use of obsessive mark making. While subtly implying that my subjects are flawed, the handmade mark in this work is evidence of our human condition—that is, we are not as perfect as we may seem. Whether painting, drawing or sewing, I make marks by hand to acknowledge and embrace the imperfections in our society’s relentless pursuit of composure.
Biographical Statement
Jessica Wohl was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Growing up in two different suburban households, she was an only child, the youngest child, and the oldest child simultaneously. She received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2001 and her MFA from the University of Georgia in 2010. Originally trained as an illustrator, her current studio practice includes drawing, painting, collage, installation and performance.
Jessica's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, Nashville, Finland, Norway and Italy. She has taught at The University of Georgia, Maple Woods Community College, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kansas City Art Institute. Her work is collected by the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sprint-Nextel Corporation, H&R Block World Headquarters, and numerous private collectors. She currently lives in a cottage in the woods in Sewanee, Tennessee where she is a Brown Foundation Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Art, teaching drawing and painting at The University of the South.