Neon, Nostalgia and Joy!
Meagan Hepp (formerly of Boston) is a Providence based artist, administrator and educator. They are the Ceramics Studio Manager at the Jamestown Arts Center in Jamestown, RI.
The "disco ball" series emerged as a response to the isolation of the pandemic. Living, teaching, and working in the same small space, Hepp found solace in "disco hour," when sunlight would interact with the many disco balls hanging in their windows. This work explores the dynamic interplay of color, light, and texture as the reflected light from the mirrored surfaces transforms a stagnant space. Through ever-changing patterns, the disco ball's reflections infuse the environment with energy, compensating for the social and physical spaces the pandemic denied us. The rigid, geometric shape of the disco ball mirrors the natural grid patterns it creates, yet its reflected light remains fluid and unpredictable. Depending on time, location, and movement, the colors shift wildly—much like the world around us. In this way, the disco ball serves as both a symbol of structure and transformation, reminding us of the constant flux of our environments
Hepp’s soft-curved, biomorphic ceramic forms, The Pet Rocks, are coated in a variety of combinations of colors and textures taken from natural, neon and synthetic inspirations. These unlikely combinations are a nod to both nostalgic references from their 90’s childhood, as well as influences from today’s queer culture. By putting the two together, Hepp is representing the amorphous possibilities of queer abstraction and joy.
Hepp is interested in creating accessible public art including, Rainbowland, a mural commissioned by the Boston Paintbox Program, and other temporary public art including, Pet Rock Pile, which was on view at the Beal's Preserve in Southborough, MA in 2023 and Shimmer, on view at Monmouth Park in Brookline, MA in 2020. As an artist, Hepp’s most recent solo shows were Pet Rocks at Boston’s City Hall, Play Date: Companions Club at Kingston Gallery and Companions at Shelter in Place Gallery, a miniature gallery created as a solution to the pandemic. The original Shelter in Place Gallery is now on view and owned by the MFA, Boston. Hepp is noted as the 2021-2022 Emerging Artist for Kingston Gallery.
