Womb, 2019

Interactive installation of VR equipment

Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London

A pioneer in the field of 3D animation, Jennifer Steinkamp works exclusively in digital media, using computer technology to render organic and abstract forms in motion. Womb is an interactive VR installation that allows the viewer/participant to manipulate and collide projected 3-D images of fruit by using a handheld controller. The work’s title alludes to fruit as the ripened ovary of a plant containing seeds, reflecting Steinkamp’s longstanding interest in the female-oriented function of seeds, spores, and weeds. More broadly, the work alludes to the growth of complex ideas from simple origins. By simulating the movement of forms that are at once familiar and unique, Steinkamp draws our attention to both natural and manmade life cycles.

About the Artist

Jennifer Steinkamp (b. 1958, Denver, CO; lives and works in Los Angeles) received her BFA, MFA, and an honorary Ph.D. from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California. Solo exhibitions of her work have been presented at The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, CO; Portland Art Museum, OR; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas; among many others. Her work can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; The National Gallery, Washington, DC; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Istanbul Museum, Turkey; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL; and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX. In 2001, the Rice Gallery presented One saw; the other saw, a collaboration between Steinkamp and composer Jimmy Johnson.