Madelaine Jo’s sculptures navigate the complex interplay between desire and disgust, intrigue and confusion. Alien textures and amalgamations of material evoke peculiar sensations, while their candy hued contours offer the warm embrace of something strangely familiar.
Driven by an urge to manipulate matter, Jo's practice is deeply tactile. She incorporates an eclectic array of repurposed materials such as paper pulp, artificial hair, wax granules, fishbowl rocks, and tinsel to deliberately blur the boundaries between the recognizable and the unknown. Jo’s inclination towards tangibility informs her visceral fabrication techniques; the studio becomes a sensory playground - a laboratory where the bizarre comes to life.
The artist's attraction to abundant surfacing, nostalgic color, and biomorphic form is rooted in a fascination with physicality. As the steward of her own body, which she affectionately refers to as her “meat suit”, the artist delves into the nuances of corporeal existence. Though her explorations are intimate, they create an opening to ponder the implications of inhabiting space. Ultimately, the work extends an invitation to get in touch with touch itself.
Madelaine Jo (b. 1997) is an artist from Colorado whose practice centers sculptural and dimensional processes. The artist takes an absurd and playful approach to object making.
Jo received a BFA from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in 2020. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including ReCreative Denver, Juicebox Gallery, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Land Yacht Gallery, Taxi AIR, Lane Meyer Projects and Redline Contemporary Art Center. She currently lives and works between Denver and Lafayette, Colorado.
