Kerri Conlon
Instagram: @kerriconlonstudio
Website: https://www.kerriconlon.com/
Bio: "Kerri Conlon is an artist and educator living and working in San Francisco, CA. She received her MFA in Sculpture from the Yale School of Art in 2019 and her BFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2009. Her practice explores the intersections of construction—both architectural and cultural—investigating how identity and space are shaped by structures that are at once physical and ideological. Working with craft and architectural materials, Conlon creates large-scale sculptural installations that fuse the ornamental with the structural. Her work uses tactile processes to examine how we inhabit, uphold, and challenge the frameworks that shape our lives—whether built, inherited, or imagined. She has exhibited nationally, with recent solo exhibitions including Upholding at Bass and Reiner in San Francisco, CA, and Throughway at Cube Space Gallery in Berkeley, CA. Her work has also been shown in New York, NY; Providence, RI; and Ferguson, MO. She has received numerous fellowships and awards, including the Lighthouse Works Fellowship (2023) and the Fannie B. Pardee Prize for Excellence in Sculpture (2019). In addition to her studio practice, Conlon has worked in academic shop spaces since 2007, teaching students the conceptual and technical skills necessary to translate ideas into physical form. She believes that making is a way of knowing and fosters agency in students through hands-on engagement with materials and processes. She is currently a Lecturer in the Art and Art History Department at Stanford University. She is the co-founder of Hunt Projects, a shared studio space in San Francisco that provides artists with private studios and a communal wood and metal shop for material exploration and dialogue. She continues to expand the impact of her work through immersive installations and a growing interest in public sculpture, using art to challenge and reimagine the built environment."
Statement: "My large-scale sculptural installations examine how identity, culture, and place are constructed within pervasive power structures, where autonomy is often an illusion. Using materials that range from steel and concrete to textiles and cordage, I explore the liminal spaces between the interior and exterior, the body and built environment, structure and façade, carving out space for both vulnerability and possibility. My early works subvert monuments of power—like triumphal arches—by rendering them at human scale with soft materials, challenging their associations with authority. Over time, I’ve moved away from historically inscribed architectural symbols to envision new forms of collective inspiration—shifting toward more flexible modes of construction. My recent work explores ambulatory architecture—collapsible, adaptable structures that respond to the paradox between our desire for security and the instability of contemporary life. Inspired by shelters like tents and umbrellas, these works can move with us, reflecting both fragility and resilience. Influenced by speculative fiction writers, like Octavia Butler and N.K. Jemisin, I see art as a tool for envisioning alternate futures and structures of care. My work imagines what forms of growth and support structures can emerge in the face of systemic collapse. "
