ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint with fiber. As a contemporary artist working in fiber, I use wool, silk and other natural fibers much the way a painter uses pigment. Through wet, Nuno and needle felting, I create richly textured, representational works entirely from fiber. Typically ranging from two to four feet, my two-dimensional works are custom framed for wall display, with layered fibers and embellishments adding texture and dimensionality to the surface.
Portraiture is central to my practice. I use direct gaze and expression to move beyond likeness and communicate something distinctive about the individual I portray—whether strength, joy or intensity. Much of my work is rooted in New Orleans and Louisiana. I draw from the people, places and traditions that give this region its character, seeking to honor and celebrate its culture while sharing aspects of it with audiences beyond the region. Other subjects come from places I have experienced or individuals whose stories and visual presence compel me to translate them into fiber.
I continually push fiber beyond its traditional uses and expectations of what the medium can do. I use traditional felting techniques in a painterly way, building color, shadow and detail without paint while challenging myself to discover how far I can take the medium.
I want the image to command attention before the material reveals itself. From a distance, the work may initially read as a painting. Up close, individual fibers, textures and embellishments become visible, inviting closer examination and a reconsideration of what fiber can become.
ARTIST BIO
Jennifer “Jen” Morgan is a Louisiana-based contemporary fiber artist whose work is rooted in portraiture, cultural storytelling and a strong sense of place. She earned a BFA in Graphic Design from East Carolina University and spent more than three decades working as a graphic designer, art director and marketing professional before returning to a full-time fine art practice.
Morgan works primarily through wet, Nuno and needle felting, creating two-dimensional works from wool, silk and other natural fibers. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including Personal Structures – Confluences at the European Cultural Centre’s Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy. She has received recognition through juried exhibitions and awards, including First Place in New Orleans in Art: A Love Letter from the Crescent City at the R.W. Norton Art Gallery.
Her work has been featured in Fiber Art Now, Inside New Orleans and Social Northshore, and is held in private collections throughout the United States. Morgan lives and works in Mandeville, Louisiana, and is represented by Orleans Gallery in New Orleans.