Jennifer Pepper (b. 1970) is an exhibiting artist living outside Nashville, Tennessee and makes mixed media artworks and installations that consider the fragility of nature as well as our place in it. Over the past 25 years, Jennifer has dedicated herself to the spectrum of art related endeavors while continuing to work as a studio artist and raising a family. After earning her BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Tennessee, she worked as an art restorer in Dallas, Texas. She received her MFA with honors in studio art with a concentration in painting/drawing and sculpture from the University of North Texas. During her time in Dallas, Texas, she exhibited her work regionally and was a key member in 500X Gallery (one of Texas’ oldest, artist run, cooperative galleries). She had the unique opportunity to work as assistant curator of education at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth during the museums’ historic move from the original building to the world class Tadao Ando designed building in 2002. She has been a member of Nashville’s Coop Gallery, a board member of Tri-Star Arts and has taught studio courses at Belmont and Lipscomb universities.

I am interested in the concept of “nature” both within myself and what I observe from time spent outdoors - bee keeping, gardening or hiking. The idea of nature brings with it the complexities of how we interact with and view what is considered the “natural” world. And now, perhaps, we are all more aware of the outdoors after our time finding refuge among the trees and fields during these times of heightened anxiety and uncertainty. I like to use what is available to me such as leftover beeswax (from my beehives), wooden items, paint, and other natural materials (in this case fig branches). My investigation of material, form, and metaphor are shaped by 19th century Romantic ideas of landscape - particularly the importance of humans living in harmony with nature. I wonder what this means as we have moved from a point in history of exploration and consumption to a point where we realize the necessity and fragility of each component of the natural world. Painted “quotes” (cropped from early American landscape paintings) are combined with objects. The wax, wood, and paintings express the intricacies in the landscape, our relationship to the outdoors, and my respect for some of its smallest and most vital inhabitants- like pollinators such as bees. I hope these artworks celebrate the beauty and mystery of nature while straddling concern for our place in it in the 21st century.