Jacquelynn Sullivan Gould

sulli357@msu.edu
(517) 432-3961

B105 Kresge Art Center
600 Auditorium Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824

FacultyArt, Art History, and Design

Teaching Specialist
Director of Galleries
Outreach & Programming Coordinator

Biography

Jacquelynn Sullivan Gould is a mixed media sculptor and installation artist, whose practice is rooted in her interest in the connections she finds working in clay, wax, metal, printmaking, drawing, and hand sewing. With her work, she challenges the duality of seeing, seeing what is there, and seeing what is missing or has changed. She has exhibited her work at Delta College, University Center, MI, The Gallery Project, Ann Arbor, MI, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, and The Sculpture Center, Cleveland, OH.

Sullivan Gould earned her MFA from Michigan State University in 2011 and her BA in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2008.  Since the Fall of 2014, Sullivan Gould has had the pleasure of being the Director of Galleries and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at Michigan State University.

Artist Statement

Through subtle shifts in space, I create environments that ask the viewer to move through layers of images and forms to reveal the inner struggle of the individual. Exploring what happens when our mind begins to fail us. Reaching a point when no longer we can control what we know or who we recognize. I share personal experiences in an attempt to depict a fear that plagues the human condition; illness.

By isolating a moment, my work embraces the struggle of experience. The forms I construct explore the loss of the familiar and the everyday with snapshots of my family’s past; ordinary instances that embody a lifetime. The figures in my work are frozen in time, referencing the strain we endure with the duality of seeing: seeing what is there and seeing what is missing or has changed. The connection shared biologically amongst family members forces us to face the fear illness becoming a pattern rather than a coincidence.

Media Mentions

University News

‘Black Jubilation’ Exhibit Celebrates Black Joy and the Wonders of Being Black
Published August 28, 2023 in College of Arts & Letters
An all-Black artist exhibition focusing on the “wonders and joy that comes with the experience of being Black” is now on display through October 6, 2023, at (SCENE) Metrospace in downtown East…Read now »
New Sculpture at MSUFCU Headquarters Embodies the Power of Artistic Collaboration
Published July 26, 2023 in College of Arts & Letters
A picture of two people and a sculpture in a park.
A new sculpture, created and conceived by a Michigan State University faculty member and student, is now permanently displayed outside the headquarters for the Michigan State University Federal…Read now »
Recent Alum Working in L.A. on Promotional Material for Upcoming Film
Published July 7, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
Man with short blonde hair and glasses smiling at the camera
Charles Benoit completed his B.F.A. in Studio Art: Photography from Michigan State University this past May and is now using the skills he gained as an undergraduate by working in Los Angeles on…Read now »
‘Spartan Skin’ Exhibit Features Work by Artist-in-Residence in Critical Race Studies
Published April 12, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
a woman with long dark hair standing next to a statue of a head
After careful analysis of Michigan State University’s iconic Spartan statue, Young Joon Kwak, 2020-2021 Artist-in-Residence in Critical Race Studies at MSU, re-imaged the statue to create the…Read now »
CREATE! Micro-Grant Winner Creates Sculpture Representing the Emotions of COVID-19
Published December 11, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
Marissa Rubaiai, a junior double major in Studio Art and Media and Information with a minor in Comics and Graphic Novels, received CREATE! Micro-Grant funding to support her Rope of…Read now »
Exhibit Showcases Research by MFA Candidates
Published March 21, 2019 in College of Arts & Letters
colorful art work hanging on a white wall
As the culmination of a three-year program through the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, Master of Fine Arts candidates will have their work displayed at the Eli and Edythe Broad…Read now »
Master of Fine Arts Exhibition on Display March 17-April 8
Published March 14, 2018 in College of Arts & Letters
graphic for opening exhbit
The creative work of this year’s Master of Fine Arts degree candidates will be on display March 17-April 7 at MSU’s Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum as part of the Department of…Read now »
Exploring Majors and Internships Is Time Well Spent
Published December 1, 2017 in College of Arts & Letters
multi colored tulips against blue sky
After nearly two years as an undecided major, Madison Kautman declared two majors in one day and then went on to accrue four professional experiences in less than a year, proving that good things…Read now »
New MSU Union Art Gallery Opens
Published October 13, 2016 in College of Arts & Letters
close up of zine titled 'louise' with a cat looking upward
A new art gallery on Michigan State University’s campus is breathing new life into the second floor of the MSU Union. Managed by the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, the MSU…Read now »