WILTON PATCH . Ridgefield, CT
by Audra Carbone June 2, 2010
Jen Pepper's mother was a weaver and her father was a sports writer. Somehow, that has translated into her role as Weir Farm's Artist in Residence.

"The word that comes to mind is translation," said Pepper. While she was referring to her current exhibition at the Wilton Library, she might as well have been referencing her past.

Pepper discussed her artistic career during her exhibition/reception titled Translations at the Wilton Library last Thursday. A small, intimate group gathered to view slides of her work and listen to her tales of her fascinating life as an artist, especially how she spent her time creating in the studio at Weir Farm. Pepper spent two weeks at Weir Farm and the reception was the debut of her work there.

The Wilton Library works in conjunction with Weir Farm, hosting each Artist in Residence's exhibition. There are 12 artists picked each year to live and create in the studio at the farm.

"The studio is their private domain, which is our pledge to them," explained Weir Farm's Interim Executive Director Janice Hess. "And the reception is when they put their art on display."

Pepper's slide show, which incorporated poignant quotes and photographs of her art, was titled Translations because her work is based on how she responds to changes in the earth. She is also very connected to her parents, both of whom have passed, yet she keeps them alive by weaving them into her art.

"My mother was an amazing stitcher," Pepper explained.

Mother and daughter once collectively created an artistic piece together while her father worked as a sports writer.

"What I am excited about is blending language and knitting, riddles and conundrum," she said of her artistic muses. "When I see crochet lines, I think of it as writing sentences."

As a child she received a loom from her parents and although she has been a painter and sculpter throughout her career, weaving has consistently showed up in her work in one way or another. Creating woven pieces often made her feel as though she was looming pages of a book.

In conjunction with weaving, which Pepper does with the tip of a paintbrush or a crochet hook, cowhide, steel and watercolor also play an important role in her art.

"I use materials that I feel are necessary for the work," she explained.

At Weir Farm, Pepper tooled pieces of cowhide and paintings, but first she utilized the serenity of the space and spent time contemplating life.

"For the first couple days I just thought," she explained.

When she began to hear the tree-frogs, or peepers as some Wiltonians know them, it inspired the artist to create a painting of what they sound like. The painting was debuted at the exhibition.

Pepper left Weir Farm for other artistic adventures on May 31 and felt her time spent at the historic farm was a wonderful gift.

"It has been a tremendous experience," Pepper stated.

Jen Pepper's artwork and schedule can be viewed at www.jenpepper.com.

THE DAILY NORWALK . CT
by Alissa Letkowski

May 24 . 2010
The Weir Farm Art Center has been running the "Artist in Residence" program since 1998, but is currently hosting its first artist since renovations to the new art studio were completed, according to Superintendent Linda Cook.
The newest artist is Jen Pepper, who describes her work as conceptual, fabulous and for sale. She works with a variety of mediums, including leather and carvings. Her newest artistic goal is "trying to capture things you cannot hold, like fleeting time, fleeting memories and clouds," said Pepper, whose favorite thing about Weir Farm is the peace and quiet. She works without radio or wireless internet to keep out the distractions.
Pepper, a Toronto-born associate professor of art and design at Cazenovia College, arrived Sunday at the farm. While most artists in residence stay for a month, Pepper will only be there for two weeks due to previous commitments.
Artists may apply to work and live on the farm for a period of one month free of charge, according to Cook. The farm typically hosts 12 artists each year, but did not hold the program for about five months while they added onto the existing barn with attached garage.
"The new studio will enable the program to evolve and will position the center to more fully participate in regional and national art arenas and to offer more art programs to the community," according to the art center website.
Cook believes having an artist living and painting on the site immensely benefits the historic site. "Having an artist in residence keeps the tradition of using this site to inspire art," she said. "It's like, I want to come and paint where Weir painted."
"I love to go to places that have history to them. There's like a spirit in the land," said Pepper. "This was a property that was not only owned and prized by artists, but art was a big part of the landscape."
Since the program's birth, 115 visual artists have taken advantage of the opportunity from all over the United States, Tunisia, Germany, Australia, India and the Netherlands, according to the website. Although only 12 artists are selected, Cook estimates that between 600 and 800 artists visit the grounds to capture the rolling fields and historic stone walls every year.
The art center reports that of the almost 391 National Park Service sites, Weir Farm is one of the two parks dedicated to art.

http://www.thedailynorwalk.com/neighbors/artists-will-live-weir-farm-again

www.syracuse.com
by Melinda Johnson
January 14 . 2010
"Everson Museum of Art schedules new approach to Biennial, Maxfield Parrish exhibition"

The Everson Museum of Art is continuing the momentum of “Turner to Cezanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection,” which closed earlier this month. New exhibitions for 2010 feature more contemporary art and works by local artists. Original prints by Maxfield Parrish are expected to be a major draw.
The museum breaks with its traditional summertime Everson Biennial show of regional artists. Instead, the Everson will present a four-part series, titled “The Edge of Art: New York State Artists Series.”
The change is “so that we can be highlighting our regional and local artists throughout the entire year and also focusing on a variety of different artistic styles and formats with each different segment of the series,” said Sarah Massett, Everson public relations director.
What began with “Turner” may take hold again. Museum officials are considering charging admission for one or two special exhibitions this year, said Massett. Currently, the museum admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5. The museum charged $10 to $15 for the “Turner” traveling exhibition. A decision is expected at month’s end.
“Overall, we have a very dynamic schedule, featuring a wide range of artists,” said Massett. “Truly something to suit every taste, going from monumental sculpture to furniture design, featuring the immense talent of local and regional artists and, of course, the broad public appeal of Maxfield Parrish.”
Here is the Everson’s exhibition schedule for 2010:
“Tim Scott — The Sixties: When Colour Was Sculpture,” Jan. 30 to April 11. Courtesy of Everson Museum of Art "Bird in Arras" will be included in “Tim Scott — The Sixties: When Colour Was Sculpture.”
Features British artist Tim Scott’s large steel and acrylic sheeting sculptures and ceramic sculptures from the “House of Clay” series.
“The Edge of Art: New York State Artists Series.” Jan. 30 to April 4.
The first installment is a solo show of Jen Pepper, an artist who lives and teaches in Cazenovia. She has created a site-specific installation, “that which cannot be held,” based on “Tautologos,” a previous body of work.
“Fantasies and Fairy-Tales: Maxfield Parrish and the Art of the Print,” April 29 to July 11.
Americans were familiar with Parrish’s work in the 1920s and 1930s from magazine covers, book illustrations, calendars, advertisements and color reproductions. This exhibit features original works that appeared in print.

http://www.images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.syracuse.com/arts/photo/pierrots-serenadejpg-5d4bb4dd49ab4dda_custom_120xauto.jpg&imgrefurl=http://topics.syracuse.com/tag/Jen%2520Pepper/index.html&usg=__K06o9HYtH0L4NlpBHkJW9Dsllkw=&h=145&w=120&sz=57&hl=en&start=34&sig2=5JO5FnuiEE3PCJK3lDamEg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=em_upCGNWj3ueM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=79&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djen%2Bpepper%26start%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D2zg%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26ndsp%3D21%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=Tk7JS7_jFsL_lgeQk-zUBA

artdaily.org
the first art newspaper on the net

SYRACUSE, NY.- The Everson Museum of Art presents the first installment of the The Edge of Art: New York State Artist Series, featuring Jen Pepper: that which cannot be held January 30 – April 4, 2010. The series takes the place of the long running Biennial exhibition, which will return in 2012.

“We are excited to present Jen Pepper’s work in the first installment of this new series,” said Debora Ryan, Everson Museum of Art Senior Curator. “She is using the gallery space in a new and exciting way that will invite the viewer to make a personal connection.”

Born in Toronto , Jen Pepper has exhibited in solo and group shows in international and national venues since 1990. Her work is included in the Flatfiles at Pierogi 2000 in Brooklyn , NY and she has been the recipient of granted awards including NEH, NYFA, NYSCA, Astraea Foundation and Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts as well as numerous international artist residency programs. Pepper is an associate professor in the Studio Art + Design program at Cazenovia College . She holds a BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from The University of Connecticut at Storrs .

Pepper will be creating a site-specific installation, exploring language through an unexpected use of materials and space. Pepper describes her work in her artist statement as suggesting “…that objects and ideas are under constant transformation, randomly blending time, memory, reality and place as a transitional location ripe for imagining, just this side of dreaming.”

For the past 34 years, the Everson has featured Central New York Artists in the Everson Biennial, a juried exhibition traditionally featuring about fifty artists in one group show. This year, the Everson introduces The Edge of Art: New York State Artist Series, four contemporary art exhibitions showcasing the work of artists living in New York State , particularly the Central New York Region. The new format presents small-scale focused exhibitions and site-specific installations of new work. The exhibitions will take place in the Robineau Gallery on the main level of the museum, while collaborative pieces and site-specific installations may be presented in auxiliary spaces throughout the museum including the main Rosamond Gifford Sculpture Court and the Mather Court located on the lower level.

The Everson Biennial will return in 2012 with a multi-venue exhibition showcasing Central New York artists throughout the Syracuse community. The prospectus will be available in the spring.

An Opening Night Reception for Jen Pepper: that which cannot be held will be held January 29, 5:30 – 8 p.m. Guests are invited to enjoy a mix of songs from the 60s provided by DJ Brian Oddo, light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar before previewing the exhibition. The Opening Night Reception is free for Everson members, $10 non-members.

For more information, visit www.everson.org or call (315) 474-6064. The Everson is also on Facebook, www.facebook.com/EversonMuseumOfArt, and Twitter, http://twitter.com/SKernEverson.

The Everson Museum of Art | The Edge of Art | Jen Pepper |

http://artdaily.org/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=35832&b=jen%20pepper

OCT.19.1999
review by PAUL LASTER

If it's art you're looking to buy, you may have difficulty finding it in "Qwork," an almost invisible exhibition of drawings and wall sculptures by four women artists at Feed. Organized by Kathleen McShane, an assistant to Sol LeWitt, the show is a subtle visual treat that plays hide and seek with the viewer. By the entrance is a striking work by Elana Herzog, a whirling pinwheel of plastic and staples made right on the wall. Along another wall M.M. Lum has hung strips of newspaper headlines -- actually obituary headlines -- running from ceiling to floor. It's called The End of Work.

McShane's own work, called These, covers still another wall. It's an orderly grid of large sheets of white paper that have cutout, irregular holes with their edges flopping and drooping, suggestive of puffy clouds or cartoon characters . All of the quirk-work here blends neatly with the surroundings, but perhaps none more so than Jennifer Pepper's Crochet the Edges of a Room. Occupying the borders of walls -- some that are blank -- her off-white needlework is playfully punctuated with bits of yellow that quietly say, "I'm here!" - Paul Laster Oct.19.1999

"Qwork," through Nov. 3 at Feed, 173A North 3rd Street, Williamsburg. S&S 1-6. (718) 486-8992

www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/reviews/laster/laster10-19-99.asp