2016
Jennyfer Stratman was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1992 until 1997 she studied visual arts and art education at Arizona State University. Midway through her degree Stratman discovered a particular affinity for sculpture. Following graduation she began to refine her own particular style within the discipline of sculpture. She thrives on subtle confrontation with the viewer drawn from her unique perspective on social issues. Sometimes her art is motivated by a particular memory. Her inspirations are natural and urban environments, the human body and the commonality of human experience.
Now a renowned metal sculptor, Stratman's creativity and zest for life seem to abruptly contrast with the stark surfaces of her Arizona workshop.Yet it is here where some of her best work has been born. Just outside, surrounded by eight acres of open desert, she shares her shady space with four horses, a tribe of goats and an iguana named Cosmo. She dedicates about half her time in this little oasis, the rest is spent on a life she has built for herself in Australia.
Most of her work has an ethereal theme. A lot of it expresses ideas related to the cycles of life or birth, growth and decay, transformation, regeneration and renewal. Circular forms and intertwined flows represent the endless cycles of matter and energy transformation. Her genderless, faceless figures, connected to both the earth and the sky suggest the interconnection that we all have with nature and the cosmos. They represent the essence of humanity and the body while longing for connection with people. Some feel lonely, while others elicit a feeling of kinship in the human experience. Her trees are a metaphor for growth and renewal. The cycle of trees are a metaphor for her life being uprooted from Arizona and transplanted to her second life in Australia.
