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Jennifer Rubin Garey

Sculptor and Curator

Jennifer Rubin Garey received her Bachelors in Fine Arts and Art History from Florida State University and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii. After graduation, she moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee where she received a MakeWork grant to build a foundry supporting the creation of her work. In 2014, she was awarded the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Jennifer lives North of Philadelphia and currently splits her time between creating her own art, managing exhibitions at Princeton University Art Museum’s Bainbridge House, and curating Sculpture Walk at Bucks County Community College. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in museums and galleries throughout the nation. These include the Honolulu Museum of the Arts, Knoxville Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts (Tallahassee), as well as many private and corporate collections. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Solsberry, Indiana and is Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County.

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Artist Statement

My work focuses on the female figure and how we choose to allow ourselves to be judged by external standards of body and appearance. These standards are self- imposed in response to societal expectations and our own innate need to conform. We are not the only ones policing our conformity we are judged by others, as well. Not just the people we see in passing, but our mothers, sisters, and friends. When we let these external pressures push us out of true we are shifted off our personal foundations. Our true form may or may not be consistent with the contemporary idealized image of a beautiful, successful woman. Clothing such as high heels and corsets reform the body into an unnatural shape, which may paradoxically be considered the ideal.

While continuously exploring the human figure I have found that the evolution of my artistic concept is parallel to gender stresses and insecurities and are juxtaposed with issues surrounding female politics. I create art that navigates and addresses longing standing gender constraints and perception. These stereotypes halt us from the past and are usually unspoken. My work creates a forum for this conversation and helps us see if not feel how that transition continues to affect us in the here and now. I have experimented with a myriad of materials in an attempt to bring forth these notions in my art. The recurring theme of transparent materials, in contrast to opaque, is indicative of the ephemeral quality of the human body. This is evident in my current work representing the dichotomy between the delicate yet powerful self, and the evolving roles women play set forth by societal structure.

This describes the root of my art. I make my work visually distinct by manipulating the female form into a beautiful yet mysterious piece of art. I do this by elongating, concealing, or extracting elements from the figure and transforming them into a rigid structure such as bronze or resin. This I feel enables the viewer to embrace the art for its beauty whether or not they embrace or understand my concept.