Artists

Janet Nelson is a sculptor whose practice ranges from spare, ethereal wire constructions to intricately detailed garments and artifacts created from resin and experimental materials. Inspired early on by the countercultural art of the 1960s and the found-object sculptures of the Emeryville mudflats near her Bay Area home, Nelson developed a fascination with transformation and material reinvention that continues to shape her work.

Driven by intuition and impulse, Nelson creates works that evoke both intensity and timelessness. She has pioneered a distinctive process using painted mixed polymers and paper laminated with wood glue, which she distresses to resemble weathered artifacts. These contemporary “relics” suggest objects unearthed from history while remaining unmistakably of the present.

Her practice resists boundaries, blending influences from Native American clothing traditions with a contemporary sensibility that seeks to overwhelm the eye and invite reflection. Whether minimal or richly detailed, Nelson’s works embody her lifelong commitment to creative exploration without restriction.