Jean Wells

Giant chocolate kisses, a seven foot ice cream sundae, even a mosaic toilet bowl filled with goldfish—are all fair game for Jean Wells playful—yet powerful—sculpture. In her work, Wells draws from a rich family background in the arts, combining innate abilities with a penchant for popular culture to create colorful, large-scale mosaic sculptures. Her themes are simultaneously familiar and fantastical, ranging from everyday objects to childhood treasures.

Wells graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Fine Art. She later attended The Art Institute of Seattle (formerly Burnley School for Professional Art), and says she has always benefited from the endless hours of instruction and mentoring she received from family members. Her extensive creative background led Wells toward a career path in the art world. Wells continued to create ceramics and paintings over the next several years.

Taking her viewers to another dimension, the cultural iconoclastic images Wells works with resonate with collectors, gallery directors and mass audiences alike. The effectiveness of her art is not just a consequence of her skill with design and color but also a result of her ability to make the ordinary extraordinary while capturing an aura of nostalgia and excitement. Wells’ art is eccentric and at the same time relevant. She has taken the mundane and given our generation an opportunity to view consumerism through her expressive, one-of-a-kind pieces.