Jennifer Eli Indreland

Jennifer Eli Indreland was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved frequently while growing up. After attending high school in England, she earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and settled on the East Coast. Every summer throughout her nomadic childhood, she returned to a ranch in Montana that has been in her family for four generations. After many years away, she moved back to Billings where she currently lives with her twin sons.

 

Indreland's work is influenced by folk tales, medieval art, Victorian lithographs, the Western landscapes of her childhood, and the strange beauty she finds in the darker corners of history. She says, "When I moved back to Montana after 30 years away, I started exploring the idea that land can represent time and memory. Having moved around so much in my childhood, a sense of ‘home’ felt illusive to me. But now I feel a strong sense of belonging here, partially due to my family’s history, and also from sense memories of my family's ranch on Red Lodge Creek. The land there is scattered with old farm equipment, sheds, animal bones, homestead cabins and other abandoned and decaying relics. I'm interested in combining iconic Western imagery with symbolism that is part of my personal vocabulary, in order to elicit new meanings and associations."