Welcome to the home and studio of Jennefer Hoffmann
Jennefer Hoffmann is an artist living and working in Chicago. Jennefer invited us over to explore her home and studio, to celebrate the launch of our collaboration, the "Goodmorning Love" Cup.
Each corner of Jennefer's space is filled with her living history. Pieces she has made, artwork from her children, ephemera she has collected throughout her time in the fashion and art worlds. The energy of every item is present. Stories flow. Sculptures speak.
Jennefer's emotional and intuitive studio practice produces sculptural forms that are open objects for contemplation. The forms are a means to explore the world around — whether they are forms detailing personal intimacy, or forms reflecting her observations and feelings about community and society in times of upheaval, empathy, and change.
Hi Jennefer! Tell us a little bit about yourself. What excited you and sparked your curiosity as a child?
I grew up in Canada, outside of Toronto. I thought about everything outside of my own home. I was always looking out at something…what other people were doing, what animals were around me. Differences, I would say, and the magic of the natural world. Its movement, its vastness, and all of its waves.
Could you tell us more about time in New York? What did you study at Parsons and how did that lead to the start of your art career?
I went to Parsons for a design marketing degree. It was the only one of its kind in the early 90s. It was a business degree focusing on art, design, or fashion as the specialty. I got a political science degree in Canada, and was looking for something more artful. My father would not support an art degree, so this was the compromise.
I very quickly met a group of RISD graduates, and they were my introduction into the art world in New York City. I wanted to transfer to the art program at Parsons at that point, but could not, so I absorbed what I could from the city itself and developed friendships with artists along the way.
While you helped other artists and designers at the start of your career, at what point did you begin making work of your own? What inspired you to begin working in clay?
For some time, I worked in and around fashion designers in NYC and Paris, helping close friends create collections. I dabbled in private painting and drawing. I did a show of my animal drawings at a friend’s store in NYC called AUTO, just before I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2005.
It was there that I started making drawings and printing children’s t-shirts with different birds (owls, peacocks, hawks…), while raising my two children. It was not until I arrived in Hyde Park 11 years ago that I took a clay class. I very quickly found my voice in hand building as a medium.
What is your sculpture process? Do you have a vision of a complete piece when you begin or do you arrive at it through process?
In the beginning, I was only driven by an internal feeling. This can be an emotionally exhausting process, especially when a lot of what I was feeling was loss and longing. After a few residencies, I began to try to look outward at my surroundings, and have that influence the pieces taking shape. Both literally and emotionally.
I still tend to get to the final piece through the process, however, I have tried to plan out different series in my head before beginning. Flowers for My Mother is a series I planned ahead of time, even though the flowers themselves are not planned before I start.
You’ve mentioned your pieces are based on feelings and sensations. What are you feeling lately and how are you expressing that through your art?
At the moment, I am trying to feel the joy and the kindness around me. To remember what it feels like to be curious and not boxed in.
There are stones at Promontory Point in Hyde Park, where I swim, that have been in danger of being demolished and replaced by concrete for quite some time. The community has fought tirelessly for preservation. I am beginning to think of ways to archive them - to archive a landscape. I want to call on other artists, writers, and filmmakers to engage with the limestone to create artwork. To try and save something that embodies curiosity and impacts the community in a memorable and visceral way. To remind myself that making things, albeit an excellent vehicle to deal with pain, frustration, and loss, is also important to inspire questions and feelings of hope in the world.
I have some sculptures in the works that I’m collaborating on with another artist. And I’m beginning to paint people again, and thinking of opening up to other materials in my sculptural work.
When laying out your home studio, what aspects were important to you?
A good table. A good light.
Where have you shown your work and do you have any upcoming showings?
In the beginning, I was lucky to have some friends that owned shops where I could place some of my objects that were better suited for retail, like Maryam Nassir Zadeh in NYC and AP Shop in Lakeside, Michigan. I emptied out Cornell Florist in Hyde Park in 2016 and had my first show. I then started showing with Volume Gallery here in Chicago, and I had a show with Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery in NYC this past June.
I may have some showings in Los Angeles in February, and am solidifying another show with Volume Gallery in the near future.
Where do you love to hang out in Hyde Park, or Chicago in general?
The lake. Always the lake, when the waves are not mean.
The Hyde Park Art Center Ceramic Studio
And, of course, ordering a coffee at the carpeted counter and perusing the sharp, colorful, whimsical, creative wares, while waiting on my drink at The Center of Order and Experimentation always feels like a special treat. It reminds me that creativity matters. That community matters.
At this moment, I would answer not so much where, but with who. I am going through a bit of a break up with Chicago at the moment, however some very special people keep me here and remind me of the kindness and inspiration in this beautiful city.
What are you currently loving at Martha Mae?
An Andrew Jessup vessel in the window that I have almost bought three times, but if you saw my cup collection, you know my hesitation. And one of Jean’s landscape paintings.
Favorite studio snack?
Chocolate
Favorite studio music?
Music that is always too sad
Favorite studio beverage?
Coffee
Favorite studio uniform?
A comfortable, usually baggy pair of knit pants with a t- shirt and flannel over it when it’s colder. And Birkenstocks with socks always.
“To treasure the seemingly simple gestures like making oneself or bringing your love, coffee everyday, is a gift."
We're excited to launch the "Goodmorning Love" Cup in collaboration with Jennefer Hoffmann. A beautiful blush stoneware cup, perfect for your morning coffee or tea.
Each piece is slip cast from an original hand thrown cup in Jennefer's Hyde Park studio.
These cups are a reminder to slow down and stay present. Share them with someone you love and enjoy a beverage in their company.
The "Goodmorning Love" Cups are available on our online shop, as well as our Outpost at The Center of Order and Experimentation.