Jenkell

Jenkell – Contemporary Art
Full Name: Laurence Jenkell

Alias: JENK

Place of Birth: Bourges, France

Training: Self-taught

Art Movement: Neo-pop

Honors: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (2019)
Artistic Journey

Laurence Jenkell began her artistic career in the mid-1990s as a self-taught artist. She explored various techniques such as inclusion, dripping, firing, and molding before specializing in plexiglass—a material she mastered to develop her signature technique: torsion, or wrapping. This method consists of twisting the material around itself, evoking the shape of a wrapped candy, symbolizing childhood and sweetness.
Her iconic work, the Candy sculpture, has become her artistic signature. She has developed it into series such as Candy Nations, presented during the G20 Summit in Cannes in 2011, and explored variations such as ADN and Wrapping Twist. Laurence Jenkell also works with other materials, including aluminum, marble, bronze, and Murano glass, to enrich her body of work.
Major Works
Candy Nations: A series of candy-shaped sculptures inspired by national flags, presented at the G20 Summit in Cannes in 2011.
ADN: A series exploring the structure of DNA through twisted forms, symbolizing heritage and identity.
Wrapping Twist: A variation of the candy form, introducing elements of movement and dynamism.
Buildart: A series of sculptures representing buildings, often inspired by iconic architectural structures.
Robots: Figurative sculptures in plexiglass, aluminum, and marble, representing stylized humanoid figures.
Painted Candies: Works in which the candy sculptures are painted with various patterns and colors, adding a pictorial dimension to her sculptural practice.
International Presence

Laurence Jenkell’s works are exhibited in over 50 countries, in prestigious galleries and both public and private collections. She has participated in exhibitions at the Grand Palais in Paris, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. She is ranked among the most-sold French artists in the United States and features in the top 1,000 best-selling contemporary artists at auction between 2000 and 2020.
Quote

"Candy is a madeleine de Proust, a return to childhood, a rediscovered sweetness."