JENK
Laurence JENKELL
Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, is a self-taught French contemporary sculptor and painter known worldwide for her 'Wrapping Bonbon' sculptures.
Born on December 31, 1965, she lives and works on the Côte d'Azur and in 2022 opened a studio-gallery in Monaco to exhibit her works.
She began her artistic research in the mid-90s where she experimented with different techniques allowing her to master plexiglass and create HER twisting technique. Twisting or wrapping is literally the rolling of the material on itself associated with the twisting of the papillote. Thanks to this technique, she created the Bonbon sculpture which would make her famous and which has become her artistic signature.
For nearly 20 years, JENK has been sculpting brightly colored candies from materials such as bronze, plexiglass, aluminum, marble, polyester and Murano glass.
Under the influence of her imagination, the twist takes on its full meaning and her works are part of a reflection and a cultural process: the subject of the Candy combining simplicity and universality. With great freedom and determination, Laurence JENK continues her research and experiments around the twist and develops new collections that enrich her repertoire of forms.
JENK has always loved candy! But deprived of these sweets in her childhood, she developed a real obsession for this symbol of childhood and sweetness. It was by immersing herself in her childhood that she had the idea, more than 20 years ago, to erect the Bonbon into a true work of art. From the trial and error of her first attempts, often unsuccessful, but with great perseverance and passion, Laurence JENK succeeded in taming the material to create her Bonbon sculpture which has obsessed her for many years. Through twisting, she expresses her anxieties and twists the neck of the past to better free herself from it. More than a medium, the candy interpreted by Laurence JENK has become a universal language that takes us back to our childhood. A hymn to the past and to gluttony!
