Arrowmont Connections: Jolynn Santiago, metals artist, reveals the concepts and processes behind her 2020 AIR exhibition

December 09, 2020

As the Covid-19 pandemic began earlier this year, the Artists-in-Residence had just completed the installation of their culminating exhibit, “Loose Connections.” The exhibition was not able to be viewed by the public. Before departing the campus, however, metals resident Jolynn Santiago described her pieces in the show.

Jolynn Santiago, 2019-2020 Artist in Residence

In this video, Jolynn shares concepts and processes behind the works she produced during her residency. She describes how she infuses something as humble as dust with value, and captures the essence of time through subtle absence.

Click on the image above or go to https://youtu.be/klx645e8ve4 to watch Jolynn describe her pieces in Loose Connections.

Jolynn Santiago is an artist from Ohio. Her work is the result of tedious rituals, daily observations, and material investigations. Her practice involves observing her routine and taking note of the seemingly invisible marks that illustrate time. She translates these marks—creating jewelry that illuminates moments in history. Jolynn received a BFA in Jewelry | Metal | Enameling from Kent State University and graduated with her MFA in metal from the State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz).

Jolynn’s work has been published in Art Jewelry Forum’s On Offer, Klimt02, SNAG JAMS, and The Beauty Issue of AUTOR Magazine, and her work has been shown both nationally and internationally. In 2019, her work was selected for Galerie Marzee’s 33rd International Graduate Show in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Jolynn was a 2019-2020 Artist-in-Residence at Arrowmont where she balanced teaching and art handling with a full-time studio practice. During this time, she developed a series of ongoing works including: rings of dust (27 grams), twenty-four hours of silence (56 grams), dustprints, file, pause, sort, and surroundings, which were exhibited at the Sandra J. Blain Galleries in 2020. She is currently represented by Intro by Galerie Marzee in Amsterdam.

Website: jolynnsantiago.com

Facebook: @jolynn.santiago