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The Hall of Disappearing
A solo exhibition by BOLT Resident
Jenny Kendler
Opening Reception: October 12, 6-9pm
Exhibition Dates: October 12 – November 1
Jenny Kendler‘s work explores humans beings’ complex relationship(s) with the natural world. In The Hall of Disappearing, a solo show of new sculptural works, Kendler presents a counterpoint to the view of nature as something to be possessed. She suggests instead, that it is we who are possessed by nature.
In her practice, Kendler reinvents ‘The Naturalist,’ continuously researching, accumulating knowledge, foraging and gathering materials in the wild. Her work seeks to draw us nearer to nature, rekindling feelings of interconnectedness and wonderment. In The Hall of Disappearing, Kendler uses delicacy, fragility, ornamentation and intricacy to echo the subtle and mysterious patterns of the living world.
Referencing wunderkammers and museum displays, many pieces are placed under bell jars like specimens or relics. Wall-mounted works are displayed on shelf-fungus or on wooden shelves made to mimic shelf-fungus. Rather than present a dichotomy, Kendler seeks to complicate this relationship between Nature and Culture, using both “real” and “fake” materials in many works — for example recycled raccoon fur with faux fur, or wild-harvested moss with plastic moss. Themes of mimicry, doubling and camouflage continue throughout the show.
The works range in scale, from delicate porcelain birds seemingly overgrown with lichen, to an enormous furred dome entitled Burial Mound. The careful viewer will notice miniatures of some of the larger works hidden throughout the space, suggesting the subjective nature of our experiences.
In the rear of the gallery is a work titled Therianthropy — a word meaning the metamorphosis of a human into another type of animal. Informed by Kendler’s research into the nature of animal (primordial) consciousness, the piece initially appears to be an iconic camping tent, complete with mud-caked boots sitting at the entryway. Upon coming closer, we realize the muddy boots are flecked with gold-leaf, suggesting an approach through holy ground. The tent itself has been reconstructed from hand-dyed orange silk, and its interior is lined with thick fur. Viewers are asked to take off their shoes to enter, and invited to remove their clothes once inside, focusing on their own animal nature as they listen to the sound of their breath.
Kendler is interested in de-and-re-constructing our clichéd abstractions of nature in order to reclaim something that belongs to us all. The Hall of Disappearing attempts to create for us a visceral, bodily experience, seeking to reinvigorate our participation in the natural world…and re-sensitize us to it’s wonders.
Jenny Kendler is an artist, wild-forager and environmental/social entrepreneur living in Chicago. Born in 1980 in New York City, she holds a Bachelors of Fine Art from The Maryland Institute College of Art (2002) and a Masters of Fine Art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2006).
Kendler’s art has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Exit Art (NYC), Root Divison (SF), Kristi Engle (LA), The Yeosu Art Festival (Korea), Claremorris Gallery (Ireland), and Columbia College (Chicago). In 2011 she had solo shows at Johalla Projects (Chicago) and ADA Gallery (Richmond), and was an artist-in-residence at the BOLT Residency, where she will have a solo show in October 2012. She is represented by Mulherin + Pollard in NYC and ADA Gallery in Richmond, VA.
She has been featured in The Chicago Tribune, Businessweek, The American Scholar, Juxtapoz, Orion Magazine, ReadyMade Magazine, NY Arts Magazine, Gapers Block, NewCity Magazine and Daily Candy, and has appeared on the cover of The Chicago Reader. The Endangered Species Condom Project, for which she created art, was profiled in The New York Times and featured on a billboard in Times Square.
A public arts initiative by Johalla Projects and The Chicago Transit Authority plans to place her art in the Damen Blue Line train station in 2013.
Chicago Artists’ Coalition, 217 N. Carpenter Street, Chicago, IL 60607. 312-491-8888
Gallery Hours are Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm, and Saturday 10:00 am-6:00pm
[312.491.8888/cortney@chicagoartistscoalition.org]
