2017 Exhibition
18. Neon Repoetry
LOCATION: The N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art
Jeffry Chiplis creates sculptures involving light and drawing appropriated from ready-made sources. Having accumulated a vocabulary of letters and words in the making of these artworks, his reassembled words have become “Neon Repoetry”. The neon and argon gas filled tubes are removed from their original context and given multiple meanings. Chiplis looks for words that function as nouns and or verbs. In composing his texts, Chiplis welcomes open interpretation. Recycle the recycled in upcycled ways.
Artist Information
Jeffry Chiplis
Jeffry Chiplis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University. The artist currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio where he has spent more than half his life. He has been making sculpture from recycled neon and argon tubes for more than two decades and been featured in Art in America magazine. He has shown his work in New York City, at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Krasl Art Center as well as many other locations. The artist also did a residency at Mikulov, Czech Republic. The captured inert gas sculptures are in collections around the country.