Jessica Calderwood: Ficticious Flora

Wisconsin artist Jessica Calderwood blends a background in metalsmithing, and a specific interest in enameling, with a desire to investigate the social and cultural dynamics of contemporary society. Her work of the last decade—jewelry, sculpture, and wall reliefs that often combine images of plants and humans—has emphasized the construction, development, and articulation of femininity and identity.

With her installation for RAM’s Windows on Fifth Gallery, Calderwood uses enamel, felt, polymer, and porcelain to magnify her exploration of gender. By including multiple figures and expanding her use of floral forms to more “aggressive and surprising” subject matter, she is able to address complex topics such as the relationship between the beautiful and the absurd, the powerful and the powerless, and the feminine and masculine.