Featuring Jane DeDecker,
DeDecker Studios
Jane DeDecker has been sculpting the human figure for over thirty-five years. She seeks to capture moments that reveal truths about the human condition, that, when stripped down to their essence, are understood intrinsically. As a figurative sculptor, she communicates emotional experience through lyrical compositions that move the viewer. Jane’s sculptures stop life in mid-sentence, somewhere between inhaling and exhaling. She tells a story through the simple moments that imprint our lives and define us.
Jane was born in Marengo, Iowa in 1961. She grew up with nine sisters and brothers on a family farm, and her art work reflects a connection to nature, both the environment and human nature.
As Jane works with clay, concepts emerge from memories and observations of life. Impressions of something felt, seen, or heard take three-dimensional form. A family rising with the dawn becomes a spiritual awakening. A woman worn thin by her burdens opens the possibility of a lightness of being. A man managing a wheelbarrow reminds us of the steadfast patience to balance life’s abundance.
Jane manipulates clay with painterly brush marks, with careful attention to her intent. Under her hands, there is a fluidity in clay that echoes the human form. Her work is not static, nor is it a finished thought, but rather tied to a moment in time and place that reflects the unfinished story that is our humanity. The permanence of her sculptures cast in bronze drives her to respect the message she leaves behind – positive affirmations about life.
Jane DeDecker became a member of the National Sculpture Society in New York City in 1998 and a Fellow in 2007. She has placed over 175 life and monumental sized public sculptures in over thirty-three states. Some of the highlights of her installations include “Harriet Tubman” at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas; “Albert Gallatin” at the National Park Service in Friendship Hill, Pennsylvania; “Emily Dickinson” at Converse College, in Spartanburg, South Carolina; “Can Can” at the Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina; “In the Wings” at the Robinson Performing Arts Center in Little Rock, Arkansas; “Amelia Earhart” at the Earhart Elementary School in Oakland, California; “Sharing Discoveries” at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; and “Who’s Watching Who” at the Meijer Sculpture Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jane feels honored to be sculpting in a time when communities are investing in art to value what defines their unique history.
Jane’s works have transcended not only art but arenas of justice. One of the major projects that she is working currently engaged in is a sculpture entitled “Every Word We Utter” that pays homage to the history of the women’s suffrage movement, recognizing many of the movement’s significant leaders. Every Word We Utter has developed into an initiative to become a monument in Washington, DC that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Right to Vote.
The enduring themes and images of Jane DeDecker’s sculptures not only capture the human condition but recognizes the progression of humanity for good and for justice.