Jacquline Hurlbert

Jackie Hurlbert uses clay as the vehicle for her meditations on human nature. She is known for her narrative, figurative paintings and sculptures, in which she develops individual characters and sets them into fantastical situations. Her depictions of the human body are often exaggerated to symbolic effect. She sees oversized feet as a symbol of “strength to stand alone in the face of opposition,” for example, and oversized hands as symbols of “presenting and offering.” The figures in her works frequently appear in theatrical costumes, with expressive faces. Hurlbert is prolific, but she works slowly, sometimes re-modeling a work many times before it reaches its final form.