Within My Studio
Kenny Jensen Blog Post # 7 ~ June, 2021
Enjoy this video tour of my current studio setup. (make sure to expand to full screen to see all the “nooks and crannies”:)
NOTE: I have posted an alternate vertical format version on instagram for smartphone viewing.
I love my Studio. It has been quite ideal for my art and life practice over the past 3 years.
It is large enough to allow me to work on multiple large projects while still providing ample space to store my varied specimen/artifacts collections, art making materials as well as all of my completed artworks. It is also conveniently located for easy 24 hrs access, well ventilated to keep the air moving for Florida heat and paint fumes, and the roll up doors open to a large driveway area that I use for additional workspace especially for carpentry and other messy/dusty work.
My studio is an L shaped, 3 car garage attached the house we rent. In fact it is the reason we rented this particular house. At the time in the summer of 2018 I was starting on a public art commission for USFSP that was quite large and included many components, so I needed as much space I could get. Since we moved in I have slowly adapted the space to be less cluttered and more efficient to best fit my creative needs and work flow. The longest wall is outfitted with floor to ceiling shelves and cabinets. Above, randomness overflows into the rafters. Nearly every inch of the opposite wall is covering with an archive of some smaller, earlier works, along with book shelves and curiosity cabinets. Its all around…
In the spring of 2019 as I was preparing for my solo exhibition at Gallery 3 @ HCC, I constructed a 3 sided gallery within the smaller section to use as a versatile workspace to plan, create, and display works as they will be presented in an actual gallery space. It also facilitates extra storage and a turned out as a great place to document work. A section of one of the walls doubles as a secret door that opens up to full size art storage within the wall. The head space above the gallery is equipped with adequate track lighting as well as many support points for rigging installations etc. Check out my previous post about how I used my studio gallery as key part of preparing for a site specific installation.
In addition to creating, storing and documenting work. This mini gallery has also been useful as a way to formally display my finished works and share works in process for studio visits with Curators, collectors and colleagues. I had hoped to host small exhibitions with openings and group tours, however during the time of Covid, that has not been possible. Unfortunately, even though things are finally opening up again, it looks like I won’t have enough time to prepare and host an event before we have to pack and leave this house and studio at the end of this month… to be continued…
