My mixed media practice currently explores narratives of environmental and queer resilience found in the mid-south region of the United States. Industrial items such as gates and tires are drawn and sculpted into colorful, gritty conglomerations coated in watery residues of pigmented resin. Doodads made from polymer clay and found trinkets are fossilized into surfaces, some forming sarcastic, queer-coded messages. These assemblages subvert capitalistic norms that perpetuate ecological demise, commenting on how political forces inhibiting LGBTQIA+ rights coincide with societal shifts toward ecocide.
Wells has attended residencies at the Wassaic Project Artist Residency in New York, Oxbow School of Art and Artists’ Residency in Michigan, and Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. They have exhibited nationally in galleries, art fairs, and museums including: SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, MoCA Tucson, The University of Arizona Museum of Art, and Torrance Art Museum, CA. Originally from Knoxville, TN, Wells received their BFA in 2015 from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and MFA in 2020 from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Wells currently resides in Columbia, MO where they are a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sculpture at the University of Missouri. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include Of the Land: Knauber, Potts, and Wells (group exhibition, indoor) at the University of Oklahoma Lightwell Gallery, Norman, OK, and Beachcomber’s Dream (solo installation, outdoor) as a part of the 2024 Art in the Park Festival hosted by Columbia Art League at Stephen’s Lake Park in Columbia, MO.
they/them
kenziewellsart@gmail.com
*Commissions and prices available upon request