Artist Jennifer Pepper
ArtistDetails
| First Name | Jennifer |
| Last Name | Pepper |
| Username | jenniferp |
| Bio | Jennifer is an exhibiting artist living outside Nashville, Tennessee and makes artwork inspired by the elements of landscape that she encounters daily on her semi-rural property ~ such as the rapid growth of invasive plants, loss of honeybees, and climatology. She combines handwriting, plant life, and recycled bee keeping equipment to create mixed media artworks and installations that consider the fragility of nature as well as our place in it. Over the past 25 years, Jennifer has dedicated herself to the spectrum of art related endeavors while continuing to work as a studio artist. After earning her BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Tennessee, she worked as an art restorer in Dallas, Texas. She received her MFA with honors in studio art with concentration in painting/drawing and sculpture from the University of North Texas. During her time in Dallas, Texas, she exhibited her work regionally and was a key member in 500X Gallery (one of Texas’ oldest, artist run, cooperative galleries). She had the unique opportunity to work as assistant curator of education the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth during the museums’ historic move from the original building to the world class Tadao Ando designed building in 2002. She has been a member of Nashville’s Coop Gallery, a board member of Tristar Arts (Locate Arts) and teaches studio courses and art appreciation at both Belmont and Lipscomb universities. |
| Website | |
| Country of residence | United States (US) |
Statement
| Statement | My work deals my awareness of “nature” both within myself and what I observed from time spent outdoors- hiking, gardening or bee keeping. The idea of nature brings with it the complexities of how we interact with and view what is considered the “natural” world. And now, perhaps, we are all more aware of the outdoors after our time finding refuge, and to certain extent, safety among the trees and fields outside our walls during the pandemic. For over ten years, I have kept honeybees on our property in hopes of giving aid to a struggling insect and learning the age-old practice of beekeeping. The seasons and cycles of bee keeping activities seemed to parallel and complement art making- so much so, that used wooden hive equipment and beeswax leftover from processing honey became material for artwork. After years of tending a hive, one begins to recognize nuances in the form and energy of its occupants. A successful beekeeper learns to interpret these signals and try to anticipate colony needs. One colony contains between 3,000-10,000 honeybees and a queen. A beehive can be a symbol of chaos and order. The order and hierarchy of the colony I rendered into line, shape, and materiality in these works. I looked to express the rhythms and flux of nature through the visual poetry of geometric forms (like the hexagonal bee cell, the honeycomb frame, the hive box, etc.), cursive writing, repeated forms, or color. With the self-imposed limitations of recycling leftover beeswax and wooden equipment (much of it used), my investigations of material, form, and metaphor are also shaped by 19th century Romantic ideas of landscape- in particular, the importance of humans living in harmony with nature. I wonder what this means as we have moved from a point in history of exploration and consumption to a point where we realize the necessity and fragility of each component of the natural world right down to the microbes that surround tree roots (and have recently been discovered to aid in tree communication). I draw and paint parts of the landscape either adapted from early American landscape paintings or discovered around my property from observation. I combine wax, wood, and pigment to express my fascination with intricacies in the landscape, our relationship to the outdoors, and my respect for some of its smallest and most vital inhabitants- like pollinators such as bees and butterflies. From delicate minutiae of lichen found on the north side of the trees to the breath-taking views along a trail that runs behind my studio, I create artworks that celebrate the beauty and mystery of nature while straddling concern for our place in it in the 21st century. |
Exhibitions
| Exhibitions | SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2022 Fits of Nature, Galerie Tangerine, Nashville, TN GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2024 In the Studio, Faculty exhibit, Leu Art Gallery, Nashville, TN |
Interests and medias
| Interests | Collage, Drawing, Mixed media, Painting, Sculpture |
| Painting medias | Acrylic, Encaustic, Oil |
| Drawing medias | Graphite, Glass |
| Sculpture medias | Wax, Wood |