Jill Kerwick

One of my favorite things about art is discovering an artist that does something so incredibly unique and hearing the story of How and Why they do what they do. What motivates some artists only paint found animal bones? Or another who obsessively paints numbers? While others create art sculptures made out of pennies or rice or prescription pills?. So, when I came across Jill Kerwick and her photo collages of dolls in wholesome country scenes with live rabbits and chickens staged in front of serene landscape paintings, I wanted to know more.

What brought you to create the art that you make?

I like that you mention “wholesome”, I was inspired by old Doris Day films. Doris Day was the epitome of wholesomeness. She was an animal welfare activist and an animal lover. Living on a farm, I decided to create my first photo collage using my own animals in a piece called, “Doris’s Home”.

Where do you get the dolls and the paintings?

I found these 1960’s lady head vases while antiquing with my sister, I knew there was potential to do something with them, but it took a few years of them lounging in my studio to finally figure out a role for them. The paintings are mine, my late father’s and thrift shop finds. I photograph these mini stages and use photoshop to insert images of my body into the composition. The animals are my pets from my Red Bank farm. Much of the work was made and photographed in my bunny hutch. The scale of the rabbits, chickens, goats and cats works well with the lady heads.

When you are working, what do you listen to when you create? Any particular music or podcasts?

In my studio, silence is good most of the time. I do listen to Fresh Air and Talk Art podcasts, MasterClass and SkillShare. When organizing my studio, I listen to JJ Cale and funk music.

What inspires you?

I used to go to Chelsea and the Met a lot. For now, it’s Instagram and YouTube. I go to museums wherever I am, there are so many great small museums, the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts and The Barnes Foundation in Philly are two favorites of mine. During quarantine and this nasty global pandemic, artists have been doing quite well because they are used to working alone, they are comfortable having to be flexible and are easier to adapt to changing things up or doing things a different way. Artists now had the time to create more and try different mediums and different materials that they didn’t have the time for before.

How did the quarantine/Covid-19 affect you as an artist?

During quarantine, I actually made more work, I did something new and made mini movies about my pandemic fears and posted them on Instagram and YouTube. One video called, “How to Deal with Life Now”, is an adorable storybook puppet-show style video created with doll heads, live animals, farm animal toys with narration and scene titles.

You can find Jill’s art at:
JillKerwick.com
@jillkerwick on Instagram
Jill Kerwick on YouTube,
The Artist Registry at White Column, NY
Beauregard Gallery in Rumson.