Jean Well's "Urban Fruit Tree"
On exhibit at the Main Santa Fe Public Library, 145 Washington Avenue, is Jean Well's "Urban Fruit Tree" through October 15, 2010.
California sculptor Jean Wells is exploding onto the international art scene with a riot of color, scrumptious materials and a beguiling array of glittering objects, large and small. Playful, paradoxical and full of technical finesse, Wells offers not only visual pleasures, but stimulating food for thought with her Pop icons of ice cream, soda and pin up queens. Like many postmodern artists working with a blend of pop culture iconography and autobiography, Wells' work is charming and nostalgic, yet packs a punch with its satisfying bite of underlying poignancy, offering an authentic and personal undercurrent that balances the sweetness.
Wells is deeply inspired by her sumptuous materials, and works with an exquisite palette of beautifully colored glass that she has custom created for her sculptures. These unique glass creations provide her with an incredibly wide selection of tones, qualities of reflection and color gradations, allowing her to shade forms, variegate and layer colors with great precision and nuance. Wells hand cuts the glass, and keeps a reserve of tiny scrap pieces that allow her to add details and touches of color that keep the surfaces lively and variable. Like many artists, she relies upon her personal history, imagination and even her dream life to arrive at the ideas she will pursue as actual objects.
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