Jill Baker Gower

Bio

Jill Baker Gower is a metalsmith, jeweler, and educator who resides in the Chicago area. Jill received her BS in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MFA in Metals from Arizona State University. Jill’s work has been in numerous exhibitions and has been published in Metalsmith magazine, 500 Enameled Objects, CAST, and Little Dreams in Glass and Metals: Enameling in America 1920 to the Present.

Jill is a former resident artist of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN, and Wheaton Arts in Millville, NJ. In 2019, Jill had a solo exhibition at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Her work can be found in notable permanent collections of the Metal Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Crocker Art Museum.
 

Statement

Jill's work explores her personal experiences as a woman. Memories, daily interactions, and examination of this experience develop her material choices, surfaces, and forms. Pattern and decoration in the work are appropriated from lace, crochet, or floral motifs. These have a feminine subtext through their aesthetic value or process of making. Alternative, found, or non-precious materials are often incorporated for their nostalgic value, feminine connotation, or color.

CV