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Jessica Edith Smolinski

Artist Statement

I am a multimedia artist working at the intersection of photography and textiles, drawing on traditional domestic craft techniques. My studio practice is interwoven with my life as an artist and a working mother. I make photographs as a form of noticing—documents of family life, seasonal shifts in the landscape, and natural cycles of growth, care, and loss. Rather than existing as singular images, these photographs become raw material: printed, cut, sewn, or digitally translated for fabrication, including laser-etching onto fabric and other materials.

Biography

Jessica Smolinski (b. 1976, Oyster Bay, NY) explores concepts of life cycles, time, memory, and traditional domestic crafts, grounded in photography. Jessica received her MFA from the University of Connecticut in 2001 (Storrs, CT). Her work has been exhibited most recently at UCONN Avery Point Campus (Groton, CT), Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY) Jennifer Terzian Gallery (Litchfield, CT), Stay Home Gallery (Paris, TN), the Fresno Metropolitan Museum (Fresno, CA), Hudson River Museum (Yonkers, NY) and The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Hartford, CT). Jessica is a 2023 Connecticut Office of the Arts Artistic Excellence Award recipient. In 2021 she was an artist-in-residence at the Wassaic Project and currently works as the Documentation Photographer at the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, CT). In addition to her museum work, she’s taught various art courses at colleges throughout CT and NY. 

Email: jessicaesmolinski (at) gmail.com

Check out:

Studio visit with Connecticut Art Review

First and last swim at the lake 💙
First and last swim at the lake 💙
Last day of 7th and 3rd grade! High praise to all of the teachers and kiddos that graciously navigated a ridiculously challenging year 💚💛
Last day of 7th and 3rd grade! High praise to all of the teachers and kiddos that graciously navigated a ridiculously challenging year 💚💛
The @smolinskifamilystore is up and running! Check out today’s post to find out how you can help support research to cure Friedreich’s Ataxia!
The @smolinskifamilystore is up and running! Check out today’s post to find out how you can help support research to cure Friedreich’s Ataxia!
A proverb for today! 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' means it's better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing. ✨ 1. My daughter and I holding a dead bird we found
A proverb for today! 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' means it's better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing. ✨ 1. My daughter and I holding a dead bird we found in our yard 2. A drawing made by my great Aunt Edith in the ‘60s. Edith Houghton was a quadriplegic due to Polio. She spent her life in a wheelchair and discovered her love for painting by holding a brush in her mouth.
Today at ArtWalk in Westville! Olive and Leo will be selling jewelry they’ve made at the kid’s table from 1-2 ✨ Olive is selling her “Slaps-on Pollock” bracelets! Splatter-painted with her favorite colors. Leo, of Wishing Well
Today at ArtWalk in Westville! Olive and Leo will be selling jewelry they’ve made at the kid’s table from 1-2 ✨ Olive is selling her “Slaps-on Pollock” bracelets! Splatter-painted with her favorite colors. Leo, of Wishing Well Jewelry, has made two different collections of necklaces. He’s made charms of sea coal that he found on the beach last summer, and a collection of beaded charms. They will be selling their wares alongside many other amazing kids in town. Come and check them out! #Artwalk #westville
For the love of this planet and each other (and wetsuits), Happy Earth Day ! 💙🌎💙 We celebrated last week by taking the first plunge of the year... brr!
Change of Heart 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread Each 5”x8” 💕 I’m not sure how I feel about this little series yet, but what I am sure of is this spring feels a lot more hopeful than last, in regard to the pandemic. We still h
Change of Heart 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread Each 5”x8” 💕 I’m not sure how I feel about this little series yet, but what I am sure of is this spring feels a lot more hopeful than last, in regard to the pandemic. We still have a long way to go, but there’s finally a bit of light at the end of the tunnel!
Starburst 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread, dog
Starburst 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread, dog
Happy Valentine’s Day! 🤍💛❤️💛🤍
Happy Valentine’s Day! 🤍💛❤️💛🤍
Flower Garden, 2021 20”x20” Archival inkjet prints, thread _____ This traditional honeycomb pattern, more famously known as "Grandma's Flower Garden", was a popular quilt pattern in 1930s America. Cheery fabric patterns and c
Flower Garden, 2021 20”x20” Archival inkjet prints, thread _____ This traditional honeycomb pattern, more famously known as "Grandma's Flower Garden", was a popular quilt pattern in 1930s America. Cheery fabric patterns and colors were what Depression-era quilters gravitated towards as a way to lighten the dark days people were living in. The design was also popular because it could be made of scrap fabric, an economical way to make something out of nothing. Additionally, this particular hexagonal pattern demanded the full attention of the maker because each individual shape had to be cut perfectly, another way to distract from the difficulties of the day. Imperfect hexagons lead to a quilt that wouldn't lie flat (I can attest). Anyway, I wasn't aware of the history of this design when I started to make this piece. I wanted to use up photos I had printed that were too small for their original intention. I also wanted to make something cheery because, well, 2020. I'm fascinated by time and life cycles and I feel like by making this piece I was unknowingly channeling a natural human desire to brighten the darkest days of this past year. 🌷 #millstreetnhv
Spring Lattice (in quarantine) 2020 Archival inkjet prints, thread 9’x6’ ———————- This installation will eventually grow...
Spring Lattice (in quarantine) 2020 Archival inkjet prints, thread 9’x6’ ———————- This installation will eventually grow...
First and last swim at the lake 💙
Last day of 7th and 3rd grade! High praise to all of the teachers and kiddos that graciously navigated a ridiculously challenging year 💚💛 The @smolinskifamilystore is up and running! Check out today’s post to find out how you can help support research to cure Friedreich’s Ataxia! A proverb for today! 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' means it's better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing. ✨ 1. My daughter and I holding a dead bird we found Today at ArtWalk in Westville! Olive and Leo will be selling jewelry they’ve made at the kid’s table from 1-2 ✨ Olive is selling her “Slaps-on Pollock” bracelets! Splatter-painted with her favorite colors. Leo, of Wishing Well
For the love of this planet and each other (and wetsuits), Happy Earth Day ! 💙🌎💙 We celebrated last week by taking the first plunge of the year... brr!
Change of Heart 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread Each 5”x8” 💕 I’m not sure how I feel about this little series yet, but what I am sure of is this spring feels a lot more hopeful than last, in regard to the pandemic. We still h Starburst 2021 Archival inkjet prints, thread, dog Happy Valentine’s Day! 🤍💛❤️💛🤍 Flower Garden, 2021 20”x20” Archival inkjet prints, thread _____ This traditional honeycomb pattern, more famously known as "Grandma's Flower Garden", was a popular quilt pattern in 1930s America. Cheery fabric patterns and c Spring Lattice (in quarantine) 2020 Archival inkjet prints, thread 9’x6’ ———————- This installation will eventually grow...