My recent work is figurative, narrative and sometimes satirical. I like to use humor and cartoonish qualities in the work as doorways in to the viewer, to make the work accessible and the content more palatable. Many of the pieces deal with dark personal realities and ultimately I am peering into the human experience through the use of layered symbols and the expressive qualities of the clay itself. I am hoping to do honor to the individuals I sculpt, offering a sympathetic rather than criticizing view of them while using humor and formal elements throughout. Even though these pieces may feel cartoonish I am seeking to show an internal reality within. Having been formally trained in figurative sculpture (and a teacher of figure sculpture), I use elements of proportion and detail in just enough quantity to make the figures believable.

Jennifer McCandless                                                          Jennifer_McCandless@loomis.org                                                               

 

 

Education

 

   M.F.A. (Sculpture) - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1994

 

   Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Post Graduate Program,1995

 

   Professional Certification in Art Education–The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, 1995

 

   B.F.A. (Sculpture) – Otis/Parsons School of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 1990

 

  

 

Employment

Loomis Chaffee School

Art Department Chair, Director of The Mercy Gallery, Art Instructor              2007-Present

 

Wayne State University, Detroit,                                                                                                                      Adjunct Faculty and sabbatical replacement for Head of Ceramics Dept.

Joe Zajac, Dept of Ceramics and Sculpture                                                   2000- 2007

 

The Parade Company, Detroit, MI 

Resident Sculptor                                                                                          2000 - 2007

 

University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

Faculty, Arts Department                                                                                1995 – 2000

 

Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI

Curriculum Development Committee                                                                1996 – 1998

 

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL                                                

 Foundation and Summer Programs, Arts Instructor & TA, Sculpture            1991 – 1994

 

 

 

 

 

Awards

 

   Palmer Fellowship, Honorary Palmer Fellow, 2011-2016

 

   Nichols Instructorship in Fine Art

 

   Professional Honorarium Grant, The Loomis Institute , 2008

 

   Michigan Mud, first place award honorarium, 2007

 

   Michigan Arts League Honorarium, 2003 and 2004

 

   Michigan Council for the Arts Year 2000 Creative Artist Grant

 

   Summer Professional and Artistic Development Grants, University Liggett School,

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999

 

Skowhegan Fellowship, full fellowship award co-granted by Skowhegan and the School of the

Art  Institute of Chicago, Graduate Program 1995

 

   Merit Scholarship,The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1991-1993

 

   First Place Representing Sculpture in Otis/Parsons Artists’ Award Exhibition, 1990,

Los Angeles, CA Lloyd Hamrol, Juror

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Exhibitions

 

       Faculty Exhibition, The Mercy Gallery, 2007-2011

 

        ArtSpace Exhibitor and Sales, Hartford, 2010

 

       Contemorary Visions in Ceramics, The Mercy Gallery, 2010

 

       Why Not, The Housatanec Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT 2008

 

       Jennifer McCandless, The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Detroit, MI 2008

 

       Avatar, East Central College Gallery, 2008

 

       Celebrating Women Artists of the East, The John Sly Ely Museum, New Haven, CT

 

       Jennifer McCandless, New Work, The Sue and Eugene Jr. Mercy Gallery, 2008

 

      Wayne State University Faculty Show, Community Arts Gallery, 2002-6

 

The New Ceramics, Gallery 451, Baltimore, MD 2005

 

Michigan Council for the Arts Grant Recipient Exhibition, The Padzieski Gallery, MI 2003

 

Art for the People, The Scarab Club Main Gallery, Detroit, MI 2002-3,

 

Michigan Annual, Art Center, Mt. Clemens, MI 2001.  Z. Sikora, Juror

 

New Work, Jennifer Barry, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI 2001

 

…Documenta USA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Pontiac, MI 1999

 

Intersections, Stevens/George Gallery, Chicago, IL 1998

 

Our Town, Exhibition of Michigan Artists, Community House Gallery, Birmingham, MI 1998

 

First Annual Juried Competition, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL 1998

 

Arts Faculty Exhibition, University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 1997

 

Potentiality, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL 1996.  Juried exhibition curated by Melanie Feerst

 

Fifteenth Annual Fresco Show, Skowhegan Fresco Barn, Skowhegan, ME 1995

 

Drive In Display, collaborative work with Mel Chin & Ashley Thorner, Skowhegan, ME 1995

 

Works on Paper, National Juried Competition, Center for Visual Arts, Normal, IL 1995

 

Works on Paper, C.A.G.E. Gallery, Cincinnati, OH 1995

 

Toy Bomb, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL 1994

 

MFA Thesis Exhibition,The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1994

 

National Juried Competition, Greenview Arts Center, Chicago, IL 1994

 

American Painting, Women’s Caucus for Art, Houston, TX 1994

 

New Forms in Contemporary Sculpture, Opus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1990

 

Annual Juried Exhibition, 1^st Place Sculpture, Otis/Parsons, Los Angeles, CA 1990

Lloyd Hamrol, Juror

 

Playing Games, Rose Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1989

 

The Art of Humor, Reisse/La Breque Gallery, Venice, CA 1989

 

The Next Generation, Reisse/La Breque Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1987

 

Member: National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts, Connecticut Women Artists,  International Sculptor Center, New Haven Artist Association,