Bio

Jen McCleary is originally from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. She received her BFA in Painting/Printmaking from Tyler School of Art in 1999, a certificate in Print Design from University of the Arts in 2005, and a custom interdisciplinary MLA focusing on art and society from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. She works as a freelance artist and graphic designer.

Statement

The roots of my art lie in the process of collecting images, ephemera, and found objects, which I layer, alter, or arrange to create something new. I work both digitally (photo-collage and graphic design) and in more traditional forms (mixed-media collage/painting and jewelry made from found and vintage objects). No matter the medium, I prefer to work intuitively, letting each piece evolve over time and in unexpected directions. My work is more a form of exploration or play than a deliberate attempt at communicating a specific concept, although I do believe that images and objects can act as carriers of meaning and emotional resonance. I am interested in symbolism, wonder, hidden connections between things, the passage of time, imagined landscapes, ways of understanding the world, and dualities including the man-made vs. the natural worlds, light vs. dark (metaphorically and literally), and complexity vs. simplicity.