Jean Wells (artist) facts for kids

Jean Wells is an American artist famous for her huge, life-sized sculptures. She uses tiny pieces of glass and other materials to create mosaics. Her art often features everyday objects like ice cream cones, hamburgers, and candy. These are inspired by "Pop Art," a style that uses images from popular culture.

Like other famous Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Wells creates art from things we see every day. She makes us look at these common items in a new way.

Before becoming a full-time artist, Jean Wells worked in graphic design and advertising. But she always kept making art, especially paintings and sculptures. Her recent works mix modern pop culture images with stories from her own life. Her art has been shown in many important places. These include the San Diego Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Early Life and Art Education

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

Her father, Thomas Wells, was also a mosaic artist. In 1964, he created beautiful mosaics for the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Seattle. These 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. This school is now called the Art Institute of Seattle. Her family, including her uncle and grandfather, also taught her a lot about art at home.

Jean Wells' Amazing Artworks

Jean Wells first became known around the world in 2007. She had a 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 sports cars. These pop-inspired objects were linked to her own life. People loved the show, and many of her pieces were sold.

That same year, she started making large sculptures for big international art fairs. She showed a huge Teddy Bear and other food-themed works at Art Miami. Since then, she has shown her art at many fairs. These include events in Basel, Berlin, Paris, and London. Her large artworks often attract big crowds.

The Urban Fruit Tree

In 2008, Wells showed her huge "Urban Fruit Tree" at the La Jolla Atheneum. This sculpture is sixteen feet tall and eleven feet wide. It is made of steel and has mosaic leaves. Its "fruit" includes her famous ice cream cones, soda bottles, and Hershey's Kisses. All of these are covered in sparkling mosaics.

The Urban Fruit Tree is a favorite with the public. It has been shown in several places. These include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Santa Fe Public Library.

Other Big Sculptures

Jean Wells creates many unique artworks. She does most of the work herself, with very little help. In 2008, she made several other large pieces that were shown in major exhibitions.

Conversation Piece is a giant Princess phone. It is 4 feet wide and actually works as a phone! It was shown at the San Diego Museum.

Mixed Messages uses a real traffic light with "Walk, Don't Walk" signs. It also has a female form with long legs. This piece was bought in 2010 for the Allure of the Seas luxury cruise ship.

Phantom was shown at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. It is a 17-foot-tall Phantom jet. Wells found this old military plane at a graveyard and covered it with shiny red, silver, and blue mirrored glass mosaics.

Wells has also continued to explore themes of food, candy, and body image. She has created many series of artworks since 2008.

International Shows

Jean Wells is an American artist who uses American product themes. But her art is very popular around the world. She has shown her work in galleries in the Netherlands, Greece, India, and Spain. In May 2009, she had a solo show called "Mosaico" in Barcelona, Spain. She was also a featured artist at SCOPE Basel, Switzerland, in June 2009.

In 2010, Wells' art was shown at the important Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. She also had exhibits in Mykonos and Amsterdam. In December, she revealed her huge installation Giant Kiss at the L.A. Art Show. This piece is twenty feet tall and twelve feet wide. It looks like a giant Hershey's Kiss 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, the Urban Fruit Tree was shown at 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 huge mosaic sculpture of a Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle was bought and displayed at the Chanel headquarters in New York City.

Art Themes and Series

Jean Wells often works in ongoing series. This means she explores a theme with many unique pieces. Each one is different, like how Andy Warhol changed the colors or materials in his famous silkscreen prints. Her Pop-inspired art includes themes like ice cream, candy, food, drinks, beauty, toys, and graphic design. She also explores ideas about body image.

Ice Cream Art

Wells started making giant five-foot-tall ice cream art in 2007. Ice Cream Moosaic (2007) was an early piece shown at the San Diego Museum of Art. It features a cow design mixed with hot fudge sauce. Kevin Kinsella, a collector, owns many of Wells' ice cream works.

Wells has made many different giant ice cream sundaes. Some have cow elements, others don't. She also creates large ice cream cones and popsicles in various colors and "flavors." Examples include Mint Chip (2008) and Popsicle (2010). In 2008, she even turned an old Good Humor Ice Cream Truck into a fun art display!

Candy Creations

Wells uses mosaics to create huge candy sculptures. Some people see this as both a tribute and a playful comment. The mosaics themselves can look like candy coatings. This creates a fun idea of "eye candy."

Starting in 2008 with her Urban Fruit Tree, which had Lifesavers and Hershey's Kisses, Wells has made many candy artworks. She often creates different colors and types of Lifesavers and Kisses. Other candy pieces include Candy Apple (2009), Bubble Gum (2009–2010), and a Gumball Machine (2009). The huge Giant Kiss installation in 2010 was a big artwork about 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 like pie and fries. Then she turns them into amazing, giant artworks.

Her Urban Fruit Tree (2007) also includes these food items. But she has made huge versions in other pieces. These include the five-foot-long Mustard Only (2007) and many Hamburger (2008–2012) and Hot Dog (2007–2012) sculptures. She has also made Donut (2010), Strawberry Cupcake (2010), and Cherry Pie (2011). Her drink sculptures include Corona (2008), 7 Up (2009), and Coke (2008–2012). In 2010, Wells made a series of food items that looked like they were dipped in gold or silver. Examples are Silver Cake and Gold Burger.

Body Image and Beauty

With her interest in fast food and candy, it's no surprise that body image is a common theme in Wells' art. She creates sculptures of generously shaped "bathing beauties" from an earlier time. These pieces, like Mabel, Bertha, Gertie, and Pearl (all from 2007), celebrate a fuller female form.

She also explores beauty themes in a series of large lips and lipsticks. These include Lipstick Pink with Gold (2007) and Ruby Red Lipstick with Gold (2011). In 2007, she created a fifteen-foot-tall motorized lipstick. It was also named Ruby Red Lipstick with Gold and was shown at the L.A. Art Show in 2009.

Fragmented Figures

Wells' mosaics are made of many small pieces. This idea of "fragments" also appears in her art about figures. She has a long series of fragmented figures. Some have partial faces, like Don't Lose Your Marbles (2007) and Two Faced (2011). Others show torsos or body parts with unusual elements, like Mixed Messages (2007). She also makes shoes that are missing feet, such as Ruby Red Shoe (2009) and High Heel (2011). This theme is a recurring one for the artist.

Toy Art

Another popular theme Wells explores is toys. She also creates art about tools for creative expression, 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 a series of Paintbrush (2010–2012) and Crayons (2010–2012) sculptures. Other toy-themed works include Pop Gun (2011), Record Player (2011), and Guitar (2011).