Jane DeDecker

Jane DeDecker has been sculpting the human figure for over thirty-five years. She seeks to capture moments that reveal truths about the human condition, that, when stripped down to their essence, are understood intrinsically. As a figurative sculptor, she communicates emotional experience through lyrical compositions that move the viewer. DeDecker’s sculptures stop life in mid-sentence – somewhere between inhaling and exhaling – and gives it form. She tells a story through the simple moments that imprint our lives and define us. 

DeDecker was born in Marengo, Iowa in 1961.  She grew up with nine sisters and brothers on a family farm, and her art work reflects a connection to nature, both the environment and human nature.  As DeDecker works the clay, concepts emerge from memories and observations of life. Impressions of something felt, seen, or heard take three-dimensional form. A family rising with the dawn becomes a spiritual awakening. A woman worn thin by her burdens opens the possibility of a lightness of being. A man managing a wheelbarrow reminds us of the steadfast patience to balance life’s abundance.

Nancy Switzer

From Denver, Colorado, Nancy Switzer paints still lifes of simple, everyday objects such as milk cartons, water glasses, cans, and more. She is known for her textural, heavy application of paint. An eye for complexity in simple subjects is key to Switzer’s work, saying of cans “A can is a simple shape. It reflects everything around it, takes form and is defined by reflecting what it is not. The can is only visible because of what it reflects. Looking at a can for a time, one begins to see what is-not-there.”

As a child Switzer was encouraged by her mother, an amateur artist. The family was musical, and she and her siblings performed as a quintet and took music lessons in Houston, where they traveled from their home in Freeport. At age 15, she played violin with the Norfolk Symphony in Virginia, and in her 20s, played violin with the Oslo, Norway, Philharmonic.

She attended the North Carolina School of the Arts as a music student and later changed to art studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She received her Bachelor's Degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and returned to art after finishing her formal education. She is inspired by the painting of Joaquin Sorolla as well as George Bellows.

Artist's Reception

Thank you for joining us to celebrate Jane DeDecker’s and Nancy Switzer’s new work at the gallery.

Saturday, March 11
5–8pm