The UAM Contemporary Gallery becomes a nail salon for one evening as artists Jennifer Ling Datchuk and Marlene Tafoya speak on the intersections of their artwork, manicures, and invisible cost of labor. In this salon-inspired setting, both Datchuk and Tafoya will receive manicures from a local manicurist while engaging in conversation. Before and after the artist talk, audiences are invited to explore the exhibition Jennifer Ling Datchuk: RIPENING and participate in Tafoya's “Salon Style”, a pop-up installation featuring manicure stations. At these stations, the audience is encouraged to sit down and do their own manicures using nail polish and supplies provided by the UAM. This program is organized in conjunction with Jennifer Ling Datchuk: RIPENING, on display in the UAM from September 19, 2025 - March 7, 2026.
About the Artists:
Jennifer Ling Datchuk holds an MFA in Artisanry from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a BFA in Crafts from Kent State University. She has received grants from the Artist Foundation of San Antonio, and the Linda Lighton International Artist Exchange Program to research the global migrations of porcelain and blue and white pattern decoration. She was awarded a residency through Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum to conduct her studio practice at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany, and has participated in residencies at the Pottery Workshop (Jingdezhen, China), Vermont Studio Center, European Ceramic Work Center (Netherlands), Artpace (San Antonio, Texas), and the Arts/Industry Residency at the John Michael Kohler Center (Sheboygan, Wisconsin). Her work is in the permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, San Antonio Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Blanton Museum of Art, and the Cc Foundation in Shanghai, China. Datchuk is an Assistant Professor of Art in the Ceramics Department at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and lives and maintains a studio practice in Phoenix, Arizona.
Marlene Tafoya is an Xicana Indigenous artist, performer, and educator based in Tovaangar Los Angeles, CA. With the agency to re-imagine the current plight of power and presence in art spaces, her practice stands as an interdisciplinary intervention. In 2023 she earned her MFA in Art Studio from The University of New Mexico and her BA in Studio Art from California State University of Long Beach in 2015. By leveraging her skills as a licensed manicurist and weaving in personal narratives, Marlene playfully deconstructs and reconstructs place-based objects that resonate within her domestic and public spheres. This fusion is an interaction and exchange, producing a whirlwind of humor, abundance, and bold proclamations.Tafoya has been nominated and awarded for distinguished scholarship including, Joy of Life Scholarship, Phyllis Muth Fine Arts Scholarship, Star Lobo Student Award, NM Harper Memorial Endowment and Susan Deese-Roberts Outstanding Teaching Assistant award. Tafoya has presented artwork in major exhibitions at Site Santa Fe Santa Fe NM, Museum of Latin American Art Long Beach CA, Honor Fraser Los Angeles CA, Harwood Art Center Albuquerque NM, and LA><art hollywood="" ca.="" additionally="" she="" co-curated="" art="" shows="" including="" language:="" for="" leonard="" peltier="" and="" safe="" space="" la="" an="" alternative="" hosted="" by="" slanguage="" studio.="" />
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