Bio

Jess Belangee-Englert was brought up in the rural Midwest, where their love of flora and fauna grew tremendously. They spent their days exploring these forests, fields, and winding creeks, gathering various organic elements to examine and collect. Their deep appreciation of these intricate natural objects, such as flowers and fungus, reflects their current trajectory in their work. After studying painting the landscape, their ideologies become more cohesive as they searched for deeper meaning.

Recording the objects as intricate drawings, the metaphor for mental strife began. Collections of organic form became the subconscious and the breakdown of imagery became intrusive thought. The parasitic entity of mental illness and how it bends reality is what they want to discuss with materiality and cohesion. Collage elements also fracture and disrupt, something they also use to ‘destroy’ their work. Transgression of memory, self-destruction, and warped perception are things they find intrinsic in their work.

As an emerging artist and instructor, Jess is currently a Master’s of Fine Arts Alumni from University of Kansas, with a focus in drawing and painting. They obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville in 2014.