Jean Wells (artist) facts for kids

Jean Wells is an American artist famous for her huge, life-sized sculptures made from mosaics. She uses tiny pieces of glass or tile to create amazing art. Her sculptures often look like everyday objects, especially things from Pop art, like giant ice cream cones, hamburgers, hot dogs, and candy.

Just like famous artists Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, Jean Wells creates art that shows popular items we buy. Some people think her art also has deeper meanings, even if they are not obvious at first. Before becoming a full-time artist, Wells worked in graphic design and advertising. She always kept making her own art, though, mostly paintings and sculptures.

In recent years, her art has been shown in many important places. These include the San Diego Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and the Juan Antonio Peréz Simón Collection in Mexico City.

Jean Wells' Early Life and Education

Jean Wells comes from a family of artists. Her parents had roots in Russia, Austria, and Poland. Her uncle, Rudolph F. Zallinger, was a well-known mural painter and illustrator. He painted the famous The Age of Reptiles mural in 1947 at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Jean's father, Thomas Wells, was also a mosaic artist. In 1964, he created beautiful mosaics for the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Seattle. These mosaics were some of the first Byzantine-style mosaics on the West Coast of the United States. When Jean was a young teenager, she helped her father with his mosaic work.

Jean Wells continued to study art. She earned a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Washington. She also studied at the Burnley Art School in Seattle, which is now called the Art Institute of Seattle. Her family, including her uncle and grandfather, also taught her a lot about art at home. Her grandfather was also a mosaic artist.

Jean Wells' Amazing Artworks

Jean Wells first became known around the world in 2007. She had her first solo art show at the San Diego Museum of Art. This show featured giant six-foot-tall sculptures of ice cream cones and sundaes. There were also life-sized "bathing beauties" and old-fashioned sports cars. These pop-inspired objects were connected to her own life. The show was very popular and many pieces were sold.

That same year, she started creating large sculptures for big international art fairs. She showed her huge Teddy Bear sculpture at Art Miami. She also displayed many of her food-themed works and pop icons there. Since then, she has shown her art at many fairs around the world. These include fairs in Basel, Berlin, Paris, London, and New York. Her large pieces often attract big crowds.

In 2008, Wells showed her enormous "Urban Fruit Tree" at the La Jolla Atheneum. This sculpture was sixteen feet tall and eleven feet wide! It was made of steel and had mosaic leaves. The "fruit" on the tree included her signature icons like ice cream cones, soda bottles, and hamburgers. All of these were covered in sparkling mosaics. The "Urban Fruit Tree" is a favorite with the public. It has been shown in several places, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Jean Wells creates a lot of art, which is impressive because she does most of the work herself. Each piece she makes is unique. In 2008, she made other large works that were shown in major exhibitions. Conversation Piece is a giant Princess phone, four feet wide, that actually works! It was shown at the San Diego Museum of Art.

Mixed Messages uses a real traffic signal with the words "Walk, Don't Walk." It also features a female form with long legs. This piece was bought in 2010 for the art collection on the Allure of the Seas luxury cruise ship. Phantom, shown at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, is a 17-foot-tall Phantom jet. Jean Wells found this old military plane at a junkyard and covered it with shiny red, silver, and blue mirrored glass mosaics.

Wells continues to explore themes like food, candy, and body image in her art. She creates beautiful and detailed surfaces that many people enjoy. Her art also makes people think about bigger ideas, like how society views women or what our culture values.

Even though Jean Wells is an American artist who uses American products in her art, her work is very popular internationally. She has shown her art in galleries in the Netherlands, Greece, India, Spain, China, England, Mexico, and France. In May 2009, she had a solo show called "Mosaico" in Barcelona, Spain.

In 2010, Wells' art was shown at the important Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. She also had gallery shows in Mykonos and Amsterdam. In December, she revealed her huge Giant Kiss sculpture at the L.A. Art Show. This piece was twenty feet tall and twelve feet wide, making it one of her largest works. It looked like a giant Hershey's Kiss candy, complete with silver foil and a paper tag. It even had a subtle chocolate scent! Visitors could walk inside and sit on a bench to watch a film of couples kissing from old silent movies.

In 2011, her "Urban Fruit Tree" was shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Her work was also added to the famous Peréz Simón collection. In 2012, Wells showed her art at the Laguna Art Museum and the San Diego Air & Space Museum. A very large mosaic sculpture shaped like a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume was bought and displayed at the Chanel headquarters in New York City.

Themes in Jean Wells' Art

Jean Wells often works on different series of art pieces. Each piece is unique, even if it's part of a series. This is similar to how Andy Warhol made many different versions of his silkscreen prints. Her Pop-inspired art often features ice cream, candy, food, drinks, beauty, toys, and themes about body image.

Ice Cream Art

Wells started making huge five-foot-tall ice cream sculptures in 2007. Ice Cream Moosaic (2007) was an early ice cream piece shown at the San Diego Museum of Art. It had a cow design mixed into the hot fudge sauce of the sundae. Kevin Kinsella, a collector, owns several of Wells' works, including Moosaic. Wells has created many different giant ice cream sundaes, cones, and popsicles. These come in various colors and "flavors," like Mint Chip (2008) and Vanilla Cone With Chips (2009). In 2008, she even turned an old Good Humor Ice Cream Truck into a fun art display.

Candy Art

Wells uses mosaics to create giant candy sculptures. Some people think this art is both a tribute to candy and a way to make us think about it. The mosaics themselves can look like candy coatings. Starting in 2008 with her "Urban Fruit Tree," which had mosaic Lifesavers and Hershey's Kisses, Wells has made many different candy-themed pieces. She often creates Lifesavers and Kisses sculptures. Other candy art includes Candy Apple (2009), Bubble Gum (2009–2010), and a Gumball Machine (2009). The huge Giant Kiss installation in 2010 was a big tribute to chocolate and its messages of love.

Food and Drink Art

Wells' art often reminds us of the 1950s and 60s, when fast food became popular. She takes everyday foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and diner items such as pie and soda, and turns them into something amazing. Her Urban Fruit Tree (2007) also includes these foods. She has made giant versions of these items, like the five-foot-long Mustard Only (2007). She has also created many Hamburger (2008–2012) and Hot Dog (2007–2012) sculptures. Other food art includes Donut (2010) and Strawberry Cupcake (2010). Her drink sculptures include Corona (2008) and Coke (2008–2012). In 2010, Wells made a series of food items that looked like they were dipped in gold or silver, such as Silver Cake and Gold Burger.

Body Image and Beauty Art

Since Wells is interested in fast food and candy, she also explores themes of body image in her art. She creates sculptures of generously proportioned "bathing beauties" from an earlier time. These pieces, like Mabel, Bertha, Gertie, and Pearl (all from 2007), celebrate a more rounded female shape. She also explores beauty with large lips and lipsticks. Examples include Lipstick Pink with Gold (2007) and Ruby Red Lipstick with Gold (2011). In 2007, she made a fifteen-foot-tall motorized lipstick sculpture, also called Ruby Red Lipstick with Gold, which was shown at the L.A. Art Show in 2009.

Fragmented Figures Art

Just like her mosaics are made of many small pieces, Wells also creates art with fragmented figures. These pieces might show partial faces, like in Don't Lose Your Marbles (2007) or Two Faced (2011). She also creates torsos or body parts with other elements added, such as in Mixed Messages (2007). Some of her shoe sculptures are missing feet, like Ruby Red Shoe (2009) and Cowboy Boot (2010). This theme of broken or incomplete figures is a common one in her art.

Toys and Creative Tools Art

Another popular theme Wells explores is toys and tools for creativity, like paintbrushes and crayons. Some notable pieces in this group include Vintage Quackery (2008) and Carousel Horse (2008–2010). She has also made 3D Glasses (2008), Teddy Bear (2009), and Silver Bike (2010). Her art also features series of Paintbrush (2010–2012) and Crayons (2010–2012) sculptures. Other toy-themed works include Pop Gun (2011) and Guitar (2011).