Artist Statement

I am absorbed by two seemingly opposed loves, the world of nature, wilderness, the vast open areas beyond our cities, and the world of machines, engines, and mechanisms. I feel at home in nature, just as much as I enjoy machines, especially those created for competition. This seems normal and balanced to me. In both worlds I observe, contemplate, engage with, and disassemble. I wonder about function, examine details, and get lost in my imagination.

My artistic practice is about balancing, combining, and integrating these two worlds through contemplation, humor, and absurdity. I am fascinated by mechanics, both in function and in aesthetics, and use inspiration from the nature to provide the forms and shapes.

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Artist Biography

Jeremy Waak was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. At an early age, he began to pursue creative endeavors, such as drawing and painting, which have remained integral activities for him. Being the child of a mechanic, Jeremy was heavily influenced by cars, engines, and all things mechanical. Jeremy attended the Memphis College of Art as an undergraduate and majored in metalsmithing. In Memphis, he began to explore the design and creation of mechanisms, which spawned the first in a series of hand-held devices called the "One Kernel Popcorn Popper." These disarmingly funny objects have allowed him to explore his love of the mechanical while making social commentary about our relationship to gadgets, planned obsolescence, absurdity, and Americana.

Jeremy continued to hone this body of work as a graduate student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His work in graduate school culminated in a thesis show titled,"One Kernel Popcorn Popper". This work earned him an Illinois Arts Council Grant in 2002. In 2010, he began a ten-year project converting an 19th century warehouse and blacksmith’s shop into a home and studio. After sixteen years in higher education, Associate Professor at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, Jeremy is now a full-time studio artist. His current interest is in exploring new work involving industrial imagery/mechanisms hybridized with plant/animal subject matter. His studio practice includes functional objects, wearable artwork and jewelry, gallery installations and public artworks.

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Education

2001
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Master of Fine Arts, Metalsmithing

2000
The Surrey Institute of Art and Design, University CollegeFarnham, Surrey, UK
Student Exchange

1998
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Emphasis in Metals

1994
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

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Awards & Honors

Illinois Arts Council 2002 Artists Fellowship Award

3M Innovative Tools for Personal Use, Tools Not Worn on the Body During Use

Brent Kington Scholarship Fund

National Deans List

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Artist's Bibliography

‍Riveting News, April 2019‍

Lancaster Online, July 2014

Fig Lancaster, Fall 2011‍

Intelligencer Journal, January 2009

Intelligencer Journal, April 2008‍

Susquehanna Style, March/April 2007

Intelligencer Journal, October 2007‍

The Commercial Appeal, August 2004‍

Metalsmith, Winter 2003‍

SNAG News, September 2002

Number: 33, Fall 1997

The Memphis Flyer, September 1997

The Commercial Appeal, September 1997

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Public Projects

2022
Willow Oak, Kinetic sculpture, Lancaster Science Factory, Lancaster, PA

2021
Splits & Giggles Bike Corral, Public sculpture, functional art, installation

2019
AGVC3v1, Burks County, PA
Private Installation

2015
Champion Forge Bike Racks, Champion Forge Center, Lancaster, PA

Outdoor Alter, Grace UCC, Lancaster, PA

Common Wheel Bike Racks, The Common Wheel, Lancaster, PA

2014
Blossom, Memorial Garden Sculpture, Grace UCC, Lancaster, PA

2013
Bike Fan Light, bike racks for City Hall, City Hall, Lancaster, PA

Garden Gate, Lancaster, PA
Sculpture public/private sculpture, Private Home

2011
Poetry Paths Alcove Handrails, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA
Permanent Installation

2008
Cup Tower, Art Garden, Lancaster, PA
Site specific installation for Mayor’s Office of Special Events

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Affiliations

Society of North American Goldsmiths
International Sculpture Center
Foundations in Art: Theory and Education
American Association of University Professors
make717 (community makerspace)
Mechanical Engineering Technology Advisory Committee, Thaddeus Steven’s College of Technology

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Professional Experience

2022 - 2024
York College – Lecturer, Sculpture 1, 2, 3, and Drawing 1

2009 - 2021
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA
Chair Foundation Department

2019 - 2021
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D), Lancaster, PA
Associate Professor Foundation

2008 - 2019
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D), Lancaster, PA
Assistant Professor Foundation

2007 - 2008
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D), Lancaster, PA
Part-time Instructor, Foundation and Fine Art

2007 - 2009
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D), Lancaster, PA
3D Lab Technician

2005 - 2007
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D), Lancaster, PA
Adjunct Instructor, FD106 3D Design, FA212 Intermediate 3D Design

2005 - 2008
Fabricator and Installer, Handrail Design Inc., Columbia, PA
Built architectural samples, worked with R&D team to design and build proto-types, fabrication, welding, and onsite installation

2002 - 2004
Fabricator, Medwedeff Forge and Design
Built large-scale public sculptures

2001 - 2004
Rider Coach, Lead Coach, Illinois Motorcycle Rider Program
Taught basic and advanced motorcycle riding skills

1998 - 2001
Teaching Assistant, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
AD101 Introduction to Art
AD205 Beginning Jewelry and Metalsmithing

1994 - 1998
Lab Technician, Wolf Camera
Film developing, photo printing, maintenance of machines
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Lectures and Talks

2022
Visiting Artist Lecture, Micro-Residency for Art Educators Summer Institute at Millersville University, Millersville, PA

2021
Visiting Artist Lecture, Echo Valley Art Group, Lancaster, PA

2009
Contained, University Gallery, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS

2004
Visiting Artist Lecture, Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Art and Design, Metals and Jewelry Design

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Professional Organizations

Echo Valley Art Group (EVAG)

Demuth Foundation Board MemberSociety of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)

International Sculpture Center (ISC)

American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

make717 (community makerspace)

Inliquid Art + Design

Selected Exhibitions

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Solo

2023
Erector Set, NoWare Gallery, Lancaster, PA

2022
Post-Industrial Fetish, Curio Gallery, Lancaster, PA

2015
Idols and Totems, Regitz Gallery, The Ware Center, Millersville University, Lancaster, PA

2014
Post-Industrial Fetish, Regitz Gallery, The Ware Center, Millersville University, Lancaster, PA

2010
Guest Artist, February, Hamilton Club, Lancaster, PA

2009
Contained, University Gallery, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS

2001
One Kernel Popcorn Poppers, MFA Thesis Show, Vergette Gallery, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

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Group

2024
Echo Valley Art Group 79th Annual Exhibition, Sykes Gallery, Millersville University, Millersville, PA

Garbled Guise: Contemporary Wearable Art, Indy Art Center, Indianapolis, IN

DownEast – National Juried Indoor Sculpture Exhibition, Emerge Gallery & Art Center, Greenville, NC

2023
Crafting Nature, InLiquid Art + Design, Philadelphia, PA

2023 Faculty Biennial, York College Galleries, York College, York, PA

New Works by Echo Valley Art Group, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA

2022
New Now V! InLiquid Art + Design, Philadelphia, PA

WE ARE SNAG: Anthology 2022, Online at: snagmetalsmith.org

Craft Nouveau, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
Juror: Ariel Zaccheo

Echo Valley Art Group Annual, Elizabethtown College, Hess Gallery, Elizabethtown, PA

2021
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2020
As Good as Gold, snagspace.org, Online exhibition
Juried Exhibition

2019 - 2021
Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Indiana University East, Indiana University East, Richmond, IN
Juried Exhibition

2019
CraftForms 2019, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
Juror: Jane Milosch

Cycle, Halstead Design Challenge, SNAG Conference, Chicago, IL
Juried Exhibition

2018
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2017
Beyond the Surface, a curated survey of contemporary drawing, Red Raven Art Company, Lancaster, PA
Invitational, Curator: Evan Kitson

2016
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2015
Self-Made, Sunshine Art+Design, Lancaster, PA
Invitational

2014
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2012
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2011
PCA&D Studio Faculty Showcase - Foundation Department, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

2010
To Build a Better Mouse Trap, Infantree Gallery, Lancaster, PA
Invitational

2009
Horn Island 25, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

Artists of the Keppel Building, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA

2008
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

Man & Machine, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD
Juried Exhibition

Works in Progress, Candy Factory Gallery, Kepple Building, Lancaster, PA

Searching for Beauty: A Visual Questionnaire, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

Art Of The Martini 7, Zaruba & Zaruba Gallery, Fredrick, MD
Juried Exhibition

2007
A Year Invitational, Parlor Gallery, Lancaster, PA

Show-up and Show, Show, Future Home of Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA

Open Art Awards, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA

2006
Faculty Biennial Exhibit, Gallery, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Lancaster, PA

Lancaster ArtWalk, Lobby Gallery, Kepple Building, Lancaster, PA

2005
Made In America Invitational, Bevier Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

2004
Horn Island Twenty, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

Anti-War Medals, Artists Respond to the War, Traveling Internationally 2004

Working Drawings, Biggin Gallery, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Invitational, Curator: Eric Cuper

2003
Anti-War Medals, Artists Respond to the War, Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, CA

2002
Innovative Tools for Personal Use, The Center for Visual Arts, Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO

Metals Invitational, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

Working Drawings, University Museum, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
Invitational, Curator: Eric Cuper

2001
Odyssey, James Renwick Alliance 2001 Student Competition, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

2000
Fun and Games Invitational, OXOXO Gallery, Baltimore, MD

MFA Preview Show, University Museum, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

1999
Playful Intent, Mae Whitaker Gallery, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Juried Exhibition

Containment, SIUE Art Museum, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL
I-Space, Chicago, IL, Juror: Billie Jean Theide

Southern Illinois Artists Open Competition, Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst, Mt. Vernon, IL

Ceramics and Jewelry/Metals Exhibition Invitational, Student Exhibition Center, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO

Ton of Art, Glove Factory Surplus Space, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

1998
BFA Exhibition, Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

1997
Young Memphis Biennial, Clough-Hanson Gallery, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN

Horn Island 13 to Taos 3, Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN

1996
Boxing Match: University of Memphis vs. Memphis College of Art, Plan B Gallery, Memphis, TN

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Exhibitions Curated

2021‍
Work Behind the Work, Demuth Museum, Lancaster, PA
Juried by Jeremy Waak, Justin Phillips, Aaron Thompson