Episode 65 - Jen Clay

When you enter the world of Jen Clay, you leave your everyday reality behind—and return with a renewed sense of possibility. Her imaginative textile creations spark joy, curiosity, and the courage to explore opportunities you’ve put off for too long.

You can experience that magic at Baker—Hall in Miami, where Jen presents “I’ve Seen a Bird Before,” an immersive quilted textile installation on view October 17 through November 21, 2026. A public reception takes place Saturday, October 17, from 6–9 p.m.

Inspired by Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds, the exhibition brings together the wonder of Jen’s imagination and an unsettling sense that something unexpected is about to happen.

As Baker—Hall describes it, the work developed during Jen’s residency at The Studios at MASS MoCA. Timed to the autumn bird migration, the exhibition invites visitors into a seemingly friendly grove of pink and purple trees inspired by invasive kudzu vines. Birds with puppet-like mouths inhabit this landscape. Their bright colors and soft forms appear playful, but their expressions hint at something more mysterious. Jen holds us in that moment of suspense—the quiet pause before everything might change.

Next up is the appropriately titled “Faithful to the End,” a group exhibition at New York City’s historic Green-Wood Cemetery, running February 11 through May 16. I love Jen’s sense of adventure, but I’m not sure I have the guts to attend that one. Haha!

She also has a solo exhibition, Premonition of Touch, curated by Harry Weil, opening February 26 at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

With Jen, there is always another world waiting to be discovered.