Dunning, Jeanne

American, b. 1960

BiographyChicago artist Jeanne Dunning investigates the human body to create color photographs that question issues of identity, sexuality, and the interior and exterior self. Drawing from a variety of sources, Dunning’s images appear to be other than what they are: a piece of fruit resembles a human orifice; a woman’s head appears to be shaped like a phallus; a human hand takes on a smooth yet lumpy intimacy. In another series, Dunning’s body seems dwarfed by a huge, unidentified mass, leaving the viewer to project his or her own phobias and fetishes onto the images. Referred to as “representations that have been explicitly coded as representations,” by The Los Angeles Times, Dunning’s photographs at once fascinate and disturb, attract and repulse.

Born in 1960, Jeanne Dunning was educated at Oberlin College (BA, 1982) and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (MFA, 1985). Since her first exhibit at the Feature Gallery, Chicago in 1987, Dunning has had many shows in both the United States and Europe, including solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; James Harris Gallery in Seattle; and Feigen Contemporary in New York. Her group exhibitions include the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, France; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tenth Biennale of Sydney; and the Whitney Biennial. Dunning’s works are included in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; Milwaukee Art Museum; and Museums of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Dunning has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University.