Jennifer McCandless
Other media: Sculpture, Mixed media, Installation, Paint
Richmond Art Center
4 Batchelder Road
Windsor, CT 06095
Phone: 860-687-6089
Email: jennifer_mccandless (at) loomis (dot) org
Artist Statement
Jennifer McCandless
2010
Using the image of the human body as an "in" for the viewer to access the work immediately can be a very effective method. I used to create primarily satyrical, humorous works and humor can serve the same purpose. Once the viewer is looking at the work, then one can explore sometimes more difficult issues.
In this body of work, I am seeking to express some truth about the human condition, exploring the process of aging and memory, relationships which are formed over a lifetime, bringing up children, being overwhelmed and profoundly moved, as well as the pure physicality of being, existing in space, weightiness, gravity the internal reality.
In "Memory", I tried to capture the feeling of aging, memory washing over the face of the man. He is living somewhere between the present and the past, the two meshing. I use the rippling water effect over the figure to indicate the passage of time and the subconscious mind. In the second piece entitled "Kite" I am
Selected Works
|  Memory - 2009 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 2'x2'  mother - 2009 - stoneware and mixed media - 12" x 12"  The Kite - 2010 - installation, mixed media, stoneware - 4' x 4'  Kite (detail) - 2010 - stoneware and mixed media - installation  the adoration - 2008 - stoneware and mixed media - 2' x 2' x 2'  Old Marriage - 2009 - stoneware and mixed media - 8" x 8" x 9"  Family Life - 2009 - stoneware and mixed media - 9" x 9" x 9"  The Meeting - 2009 - stoneware ceramic, oil paints - 12" x 4" x 9"  Pants Too Tight - 2008 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 5" x 5" x 9"  Fat Lady with flames - 2009 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 2' x 2' x 2'  Hero - 2008 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 18" x 18" x 9"  Hand - 2009 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 8" x 8" x 18"  Cupcake - 2010 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - cupcake size  Clown - 2008 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 2' x 2' x 2'  Claw - 2008 - stoneware and mixed media - 8" x 8" x 18"  Dog - 2007 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 18" x 14" x 30"  Circle - 2008 - stoneware and mixed media - 24" x 9" x 24"  Rooster - 2007 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 9" x 9" x 18"  Fish - 2009 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 2' x 9" x 3'  Fishback - 2008 - ceramic stoneware and mixed media - 2' x 12" x 9" |
Artist Bio
Jennifer McCandless Jennifer_McCandless@loomis.org
Loomis Chaffee School, 4 Batchelder Road, Windsor, CT 06095 (860) 687-6089
Education
M.F.A. (Sculpture) - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1994
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Post Graduate Program,1995
Professional Certification in Art Education–The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, 1995
B.F.A. (Sculpture) – Otis/Parsons School of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 1990
Employment
Loomis Chaffee School
Art Department Chair, Director of The Mercy Gallery, Art Instructor Present
Wayne State University, Detroit, Adjunct Faculty, Dept of Ceramics and Sculpture 2000- 2007
The Parade Company, Detroit, MI
Resident Sculptor 2000 - 2007
University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
Faculty, Arts Department 1995 – 2000
Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
Curriculum Development Committee 1996 – 1998
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Foundation and Summer Programs, Arts Instructor & TA, Sculpture 1991 – 1994
Awards
Professional Honorarium Grant, The Loomis Institute, 2008, 2009, 2010
Michigan Mud, first place award honorarium, 2007
Michigan Arts League Honorarium, 2003 and 2004
Michigan Council for the Arts Year 2000 Creative Artist Grant
Summer Professional and Artistic Development Grants, University Liggett School,
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Skowhegan Fellowship, full fellowship award co-granted by Skowhegan and the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago, Graduate Program 1995
Merit Scholarship,The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1991-1993
First Place Representing Sculpture in Otis/Parsons Artists' Award Exhibition, 1990,
Los Angeles, CA Lloyd Hamrol, Juror
Selected Exhibitions
New Ceramics: Works by Jennifer Barry-McCandless, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, 2009
Why Not, The Housatanec Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT 2008
Jennifer McCandless, The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit, MI 2008
Avatar, East Central College Gallery, 2008
Celebrating Women Artists of the East, The John Sly Ely Museum, New Haven, CT
Jennifer McCandless, New Work, The Sue and Eugene Jr. Mercy Gallery, 2008
Wayne State University Faculty Show, Community Arts Gallery, 2002-6
The New Ceramics, Gallery 451, Baltimore, MD 2005
Michigan Council for the Arts Grant Recipient Exhibition, The Padzieski Gallery, MI 2003
Art for the People, The Scarab Club Main Gallery, Detroit, MI 2002-3,
Michigan Annual, Art Center, Mt. Clemens, MI 2001. Z. Sikora, Juror
New Work, Jennifer Barry, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI 2001
…Documenta USA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Pontiac, MI 1999
Intersections, Stevens/George Gallery, Chicago, IL 1998
Our Town, Exhibition of Michigan Artists, Community House Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1998
First Annual Juried Competition, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL 1998
Arts Faculty Exhibition, University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 1997
Potentiality, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL 1996. Juried exhibition curated by Melanie Feerst
Fifteenth Annual Fresco Show, Skowhegan Fresco Barn, Skowhegan, ME 1995
Drive In Display, collaborative work with Mel Chin & Ashley Thorner, Skowhegan, ME 1995
Works on Paper, National Juried Competition, Center for Visual Arts, Normal, IL 1995
Works on Paper, C.A.G.E. Gallery, Cincinnati, OH 1995
Toy Bomb, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL 1994
MFA Thesis Exhibition,The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1994
National Juried Competition, Greenview Arts Center, Chicago, IL 1994
American Painting, Women's Caucus for Art, Houston, TX 1994
New Forms in Contem