BIO
Jennifer Kaplan is an art-science-activist whose ceramics nurture the intimately tangled relationships between human and nonhuman living organisms. Their ceramic practice blooms out of a magnetic love of teaching, the variety of processes involved, and finding the edge of what clay is capable of. Jennifer's recent work takes form as a progression blend between functional and figurative works in a colorful and queer reflection of collective grief.
Jennifer Kaplan is a Visiting Lecturer in Ceramics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and has participated in residencies at Cub Creek Foundation and Armory Art Center where they taught courses ranging from Ceramic Chemistry to Wheel Throwing and Altering, Soda-Fire workshops as well as Figure Sculpture in partnership with the Norton Museum of Art. Jennifer earned their MFA from Notre Dame and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in between which they were Lead Instructor at Penguin Foot Pottery and taught Urban Gardening at Marwen in Chicago for several years. Jennifer has shown in the Snite Museum of Art, Red Lodge Clay Center, Companion Gallery, Kansas City Clay Guild, Saratoga Arts Center, Women Made Gallery as well as others primarily in the midwest.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. University of Notre Dame. South Bend, IN. 2018-2021
B.F.A. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL. 2010-2014
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2022- Present Visiting Lecturer, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
3/3 Course load. Responsible for teaching undergraduate through graduate courses in beginning, intermediate and advanced pottery, ceramic sculpture, and interdisciplinary figure sculpture. Additional responsibilities in supervising student workers, ceramic facilities and inventory.
2021-2022 Resident Artist and Instructor, Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL.
Responsible for teaching 3-5 classes per week including ceramics chemistry, figure sculpture, throwing and altering, soda firing, and handbuilding during year long residency. Additional responsibilities in firing student work and maintaining ceramics studio.
2019-2021 Instructor of Record, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN.
Solely responsible for one section each semester (four semesters) in beginning ceramics. Additional responsibilities included firing student work, making clay and glazes.
2017-2019 Teaching Artist, Marwen, Chicago, IL.
Responsible for teaching middle and high school after school ceramics programs. One class per week for ten weeks or in summer, every day for two weeks. Courses included urban gardening and intro to ceramics. Additional responsibilities in firing student work and managing student field trips.
2018-2019 Teaching Assistant, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN.
Responsible for assisting one section each semester (two semesters) in beginning ceramics.
2014-2018 Lead Instructor, Penguin-Foot Pottery, Chicago, IL.
Responsible for teaching 4-5 classes per week including ceramics chemistry, advanced pottery, throwing and altering, byob pottery, and intro to throwing. Additional responsibilities in mentoring studio monitors, renovating studio, promoting classes, inventing glazes, firing student work and maintaining ceramics studio.
ARTIST TALKS AND WORKSHOPS
2024 Appalachian Center for Craft, Workshop, Cookeville, TN
2024 Pocosin Art Center, Workshop
2023 After School Matters in partnership with the Chicago Mosaic School, Artist Talk, Chicago, IL
2023 Mccoll Art Center, Workshop, Charlotte, NC
2023 Arrowmont. Artist Talk, Gatlinburg, TN
2022 Norton Museum of Art, Workshop, West Palm Beach, FL.
2022 University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Artist Talk, Knoxville, TN
2021 Gnareware Workshop, Visiting Artist Workshop Instructor, Chicago, IL
2021 Penguin-Foot Pottery, Visiting Artist Workshop Instructor, Chicago, IL
2021 Women Made Gallery, Online Artist Talk, Chicago, IL
2017 University of Notre Dame, Visiting Artist Demonstration, Southbend, IN
RESIDENCIES
2023 Cub Creek Foundation. Appomattox, VA.
2021-2022 Armory Art Center. Resident Artist and Instructor. West Palm Beach, FL
2017 Salondwegan, Hosted by Salonathon. WI
2016 Craft House Gallery. Grand Rapids, MI
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2023 Dogwood Arts, Fragile. Best in Show. Knoxville, TN
2021 University of Notre Dame, Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence, Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award. South Bend, IN
2021 Woman Made Gallery, 4th Midwest Open, Third place. Chicago, IL
2020 University of Notre Dame, Solarium Show, Best In Show. South Bend, IN
2020 Art Student League of Denver, delecTABLE: The Fine Art of Dining, Second place. Denver, CO
2017 University of Notre Dame. Visiting Artist Travel Grant. South Bend, IN
2014 School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Undergraduate Merit Scholarship. Chicago, IL
2012 School of the Art Institute of Chicago. With a Little Help From a Friend Grant. Charlotte, NC
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
2023 Department of Arts, Culture, and History Biennial Show, Juror. Charleston, WV.
2014-2015 FLATSstudio, Assistant Curator. Chicago, IL.
EXHIBITIONS
2024 “No Sudden Movements,” Relay Ridge, Knoxville, TN. [SOLO]
“Points of Departure”, Queen City Clay, Cincinnati, OH.
2023 “Fragile,” Dogwood Arts Gallery, Knoxville, TN. [BEST IN SHOW]
“MSA Open,” University of Oklahoma School of Visual Arts, Norman, OK.
“Super Bowl XX,” Arrowmont Gatlinburg, TN.
“Michiana Pottery Tour Invitational,” Highlands Gallery, Southbend, IN.
“Michiana Pottery Tour,” Southbend, IN.
““Emergence”, Bascom. Highlands, NC.
“Rorrim,” University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN.
2022 “Strictly Functional Pottery National,” Lancaster Creative Factory, Lancaster, PA.
“Geaux Cups,” NOLA Clay, New Orleans, LA.
“MSA Select,” Slocumb Galleries, Johnson City, TN.
“Michiana Pottery Tour,” Southbend, IN
“Above Board Ceramics,” Annual Online tableware exhibition.
“Artist in Residence Show,” East Gallery at Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL
2021 “Juried National VI,” Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
“Michiana Pottery Tour,” Southbend, IN
“Faculty Show,” East Gallery at Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL
“Invitational Auction,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
“MFA Show,” Snite Museum of Art, Southbend, IN.
“4th Midwest Open,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL [THIRD PLACE]
2020 “Michiana Pottery Tour,” Southbend, IN
“Teabowl National,” Kansas City Clay Guild, Kansas City, MO
“delecTABLE: The Fine Art of Dining: Fifth Biennial National Functional Ceramics,” Art Student League of Denver, Denver, CO [SECOND PLACE]
“Lip Service,” Saratoga Arts Center, Saratogo, NY
“NCECA Juried Student Exhibition,” (online due to Covid-19), Richmond, VA
“Last Call V,” Companion Gallery, Humboldt, TN
“Solarium, Juried Exhibition,” University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN [BEST IN SHOW]
“Second Annual Queer and Dear Show,” Saltstone Ceramics, Seattle, WA
“In The Wake Of,” University of Notre Dame Second Year Exhibition, South Bend, IN
2019 “200 years of Whitman, Graduate Student Biennial,” The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
“Grand Opening,” The Gallery of Fine Arts, Wilmington, NC
2018 “Thrown and Altered,” Clair E Smith Gallery, Barrington IL [SOLO]
“New Faces,” University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
“Everybody has a Body,” Pop up, Urban Outfitters, South Bend, IN
“Wild Life Flea, An Uncommon [Juried] Market,” Co Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
2017 “14”x 9”x 22”,” Site Specific installation, NCECA, Portland, OR.
“Wild Life Flea, An Uncommon Market,” Co Prosperity Sphere, Chicago, IL
2016 “ÜÜÜ,” Collaborative curatorial design show, Guerilla Truck Show, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
“Invitational Artist Residency and site responsive installation in Surface Tension,” Craft House Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 “NA,” Performance and Installation with Emily Beisel, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
“The Intentional Scattered. The Accidental Fallen-In,” Prologue Fine Art, Block 37, Chicago, IL
“Absolutely Aware,” Mist Gallery, Juried Online Exhibition.
2014 “The Wide Open,” Roman Susan Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Playtime,” FLATSstudio, Chicago, IL
“40th Anniversary-Bash,” John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
“NCECA” Lillstreet Art Center, Milwaukee, WI
“Spring Undergraduate Exhibition,” Sullivan Gallery, Chicago, IL
“One Night Stand, 24th Annual Second Floor Rear Crawl,” Above-Market Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Nomad Pavilion, Vincent Martin Collaboration,” Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
2013 “A Whole New World, Reut Avisar, Collaboration,” Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
“4th Anniversary,” Water Street Studios, Batavia, IL
“Basement Dwellers Neon Light Show,” Above-Market Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Domestic Disturbances,” Above-Market Gallery, Chicago, IL
2012 “Earth,” Nuveen Center, Chicago, IL
2011 “Sacred and Profane,” Collaboration with Reut Avisar, Jerusalem Municipal Art Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
2021 “Canoe Building,” Taught by Gerald Weckesser, Penland, NC
2019 “Surface Design” Taught by Sean O’Connell, Penland, NC
2014 “Breaking Bad Habits” Taught by Ben Demott, OxBow, MI
2013 “Glass Blowing” Taught by Jerry Catania, OxBow, MI
2013 “Ceramics and Terra Sigillata” Taught by Anton Reijnders, OxBow, MI
PUBLICATIONS (selected)
WUOT Radio Interview. RORRIM: Exploring art with Alex Stern and Jenn Kaplan. WUOT Published February 9, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/Rorrim-Stern-Kaplan
Daily Beacon. School of Art lecturers Alex Stern and Jennifer Kaplan talk ‘RORRIM’ exhibit. Allison Murphy, Contributor Feb 15, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/Beacon-Kaplan
Palm Beach Arts and Culture Magazine. West Palm Beach Cultural Council. Cover image and Article, Pg 25/26
https://tinyurl.com/WPBArtsAndCulture
Palm Beach Post Newspaper. Stunning New Work at the Armory. West Palm Beach, FL.
Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College Observer. MFA students present final thesis projects in Snite Museum. Southbend, IN.
https://tinyurl.com/MFA-SniteMuseum
Woman Made Gallery. 4th Midwest Open. Panelist and third place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTeZrfsrsuc&feature=emb_err_woyt
https://womanmade.org/4th-midwest-open/
http://badatsports.com/2021/top-v-weekend-picks-1-21-1-27/
Saltstone Ceramics. Queer and Dear. Seattle, WA.
https://saltstoneceramics.com/pages/queer-and-dear
https://southbendart.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Jenn-Kaplan-Bio.pdf
Voyage Chicago. Interview with the Artist April 17, 2018 http://voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-jennifer-kaplan-penguin-foot-pottery-logan-square/
NCECA. Convergence (Zine) March 13, 2018
Logan Squarist. The Bus Shop: A Vintage Clothing Shop Friday, October 21, 2016 http://logansquarist.com/2016/10/21/bus-shop-vintage-chicago/ by Andrea Kaspryk
Neocon. An Office Jungle Gym, a Stool That Follows You Around to Meetings and More Fresh Ideas for the Modern Workplace 2016. June 21, 2016
https://tinyurl.com/NEOCON-GuerillaTruckShow
NeoCon. Guerilla Truck Show https://www.cushingco.com/portfolio/guerilla-truck-show-neocon/
Logan Squarist. Autotelic Studios: A local Logan Square Workspace for Artists http://logansquarist.com/2016/05/11/autotelic-studios-local-logan-square-work-space-artists/ by Andrea Kaspryk May 11, 2016
Half Stack Magazine. FLATS STUDIO PRESENTS: PLAYTIME Wednesday, December 03, 2014 by Perry
Above-Market Gallery. Domestic Disturbances. Exhibition Catalog. Chicago, IL 2012
SKILLS
Advanced wheel throwing, figure sculpture, handbuilding, ceramic chemistry, woodfiring, soda firing, gas and electric kiln repair, studio management, wood working, forklift certified, gardening, foraging, painting murals, google drive, photoshop, digital photography, long distance cycling, listening, facilitating collaboration, and radical patience.
