ABOUT
BIO
Jill Hotchkiss received a BFA from the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, and an MFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. She has held residencies with the School of Visual Arts in New York and Oolite Arts in Miami. Her work is held in major private and public collections around the world, and her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Forbes Magazine, and Art Basel Magazine, among others. She was recently commissioned by the City of West Palm Beach for a large-scale public mural entitled Botanical Preserve in South Olive Park.
STATEMENT
Artist Jill Hotchkiss is mesmerized by nature’s patterns. Geological forces like wind, rain, gravity, and erosion create branch-like structures known as dendritic forms. These recurring patterns are echoed throughout the natural world; within architecture of trees, roots, fungal networks, coral, water tributaries, topography, lightning, and human/ animal vascular networks- all of which inspire her work. These interconnected forms represent the bond between all biological systems- Earth’s “ecological connective tissue” (Entangled Life, Sheldrake 2020).
Now exploring fungi and the critical role fungal networks play in the well being of our environment, Hotchkiss places the viewer underground at the level of an intricately weaved mycorrhizal network. The deeply intertwined roots and fungi, usually an invisible yet critical component of plant life, are uncovered/take center stage. More than an illustration of rooted ecosystems below the surface that flourish symbiotically in a shared network, Hotchkiss asks us to consider how these can be used as a model above ground, with people cohabitating sustainably with nature in our constructed environments.
In these large scroll forms, which themselves echo multi-cultural sacred relics and offerings, Hotchkiss artistically combines varied specimens (similar to those in a cabinet of curiosity), first in an underdrawing, and then in gold. The overall scale and use of this natural precious metal, which has both historical significance and ascribed societal value, combine to amplify the critical importance of the subject matter- nature’s preservation. The work questions, Must nature be gilded for its preservation?
- Holly Keris, Chief Curator, Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens