Jen Clay

Born in 1985 in Mountain View, NC, Jen Clay earned a BFA from UNCC Charlotte and an MFA from UFL in 2014. Based in South Florida, they create interactive, fiber-focused installations, performances, and artist books, often incorporating sewn messages, tactile textures, and immersive environments.

Notable works include Soft Sanity (2019) and Welcome to You&Me (2019), designed for neurodiverse audiences, and a quilt-composed video game and installation at Locust Projects (2023), supported by a Knight Arts New Work Award. Clay has been an artist-in-residence at Oolite Arts, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and McColl Center. Their practice has been documented in The Texture of Anxiety, which won a regional Emmy. Clay’s sewn textiles depict non-human figures inspired by cosmic horror and hallucinatory experiences, exploring mental health through approachable, tactile works. They are represented by Baker-Hall Gallery.