Jessica Lichtenstein

ABOUT

Jessica Lichtenstein uses the female body to examine power, representation, fetishism, and objectification—often with irony. Her work embraces the very paradoxes it critiques, probing consumerism, fantasy, and the viewer’s gaze.

Her early series recontextualized mass-produced, hyper-sexualized Japanese anime dolls, revealing how the female form is framed within a culture fixated on beauty. She later expanded this critique through her Word Sculptures, which recast heroines from Japanese erotic comics in classical, painterly settings, prompting questions about the male gaze and women’s agency.

In 2013, she shifted to landscapes where women’s bodies became foliage, exploring individuality and collectivity through repeating, anonymous forms. Eclipse: Out from the Shadows drew on the 2017 solar eclipse as a metaphor for shifting gender dynamics, depicting female figures emerging from darkness as symbols of rebirth and political awakening.

Across these evolving landscapes, Lichtenstein envisions a future in which women’s forms embody strength, sensuality, and a collective rising.

 

WORKS

Anthousai Flower Nymph, 2024
C-print on acrylic, wood frame
81½ x 57½ x 2 in. | 207.01 x 146.05 x 5.08 cm


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Nymphtopia Series 

In the realm where whispers of the forest meet the echoes of ancient tales, a nymph, ethereal and bound to the pulse of the earth, ponders a relic of man's domain. Ursula K. Le Guin's musing breathes life into the silent query: "What's a nymph like me to do with something that belongs to men?"

Beneath the veneer of human conquest lies a force, ancient and indomitable, a whisper of Mother Nature herself. A power that surges beyond the might of man, timeless, cradling eternity in her arms. The scars we etch upon this world—crumbled empires, shattered castles, skyscrapers bowed with age, and the rust of human ambition—fade into her embrace. Without our hands to hold them, nature, with a stoic grace, weaves her reclaiming song. The line that once divided the bustle of cities from the tranquility of the countryside blurs, as earth and life enshroud the remnants of our concrete dreams in a verdant shroud. In the epoch post humanity, Mother Nature enfolds what once was lost to her.


 
 

Epimelides Meadow Nymph, 2024
C-print on acrylic, wood frame
81½ x 57½ x 2 in. | 207.01 x 146.05 x 5.08 cm

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Oread Mountain Nymph, 2024
C-print on acrylic, wood frame
81½ x 57½ x 2 in. | 207.01 x 146.05 x 5.08 cm

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Naiad Water Nymphs, 2024
C-print on acrylic, wood frame
81½ x 57½ x 2 in. | 207.01 x 146.05 x 5.08 cm

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Whenever Wherever , 2022
Concrete and plaster heart engraved lockets and watches
24 x 21 x 9 in. | 60.96 x 53.34 x 22.86 cm
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Today is the day, 2022
Concrete and plaster heart engraved lockets and watches
24 x 21 x 9 in. | 60.96 x 53.34 x 22.86 cm
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Keep it as a memory, 2022
Pigment heart with engraved lockets and watches
24 x 21 x 9 in. | 60.96 x 53.34 x 22.86 cm

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What Might Have Been, 2020
Wood, epoxy, aluminum leaf and mother of pearl
80 x 60 x 3 in. | 203.20 x 152.40 x 7.62 cm

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Waterlilies , 2018
C-print acrylic with wood frame
60 x 80 x 3 in. | 152.40 x 203.20 x 7.62 cm
Edition of 3, plus 2 APs

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Dusk, 2016
C-print on acrylic
47½ x 47½ x 2 in. | 120.65 x 120.65 x 5.08 cm
Edition of 3, plus 2APs

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ADDITIONAL WORKS

 

EXHIBTIONS

 

NEWS

 

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