Biography
Chelsey Jennings was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1989. She studied Sculpture and Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she graduated in 2011. After moving to Denver in 2012, Jennings created two and three dimensional works that were featured in small group shows and also designed the book cover art for Hip Hop's Amnesia and The Hip Hop Movement. She returned to Colorado Springs in 2016 and in May 2017, she created and exhibited "Waste Not," her first work using toilet paper rolls. Fascinated by their versatility and delicate durability, she has since used toilet paper rolls to build a body of work, using hands-on manipulation to explore visual systems and patterns that emerge from the natural world and our shared human experience. Chelsey currently creates her work in the Boulder area.
Chelsey Jennings Artwork
Chelsey's work is interdisciplinary, combining mathematical theory, physics, and geometry with the traditions of craft and artisanship. Using materials that are accessible, familiar and abundant, she communicates complex ideas with an approachable aesthetic that recalls the nostalgia of childhood exploration. Her practice is inspired by the works of Tara Donovan, Richard Sweeny, Matt Shlian and Robert J. Lang, drawing from established techniques and formal elements of contemporary paper-based sculpture in order to communicate a message of sustainability and reuse. In the display of her work, Chelsey uses light and shadow to suggest subjectivity, temporality, and potential energy contained within the material.