Artist Profile: Jess Sumpter
Overview
Jess Sumpter (they/them), also known as [ j s ], is a queer, self-taught multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans textile design, painting, and performance. Originally from Philadelphia and now based in New York City, Sumpter refers to themself as a “textile architect”—constructing intricate, tactile compositions that blur the boundary between body and spirit, surface and soul.
In their featured work first contact, Sumpter explores the sensation of becoming—layering wool, cotton yarn, and acrylic paint onto monk’s cloth to create a piece that feels both ancient and immediate. Rich textures and gestural lines suggest emergence, evolution, and the soft collision between the physical and the etheric. Their practice is deeply grounded in queerness, materiality, and ritual, transforming textiles into vessels of identity, memory, and transformation.
Each stitch is a pulse; each mark, a fragment of becoming.
Featured Artwork
Bushwick Gallery
- Artwork Title: first contact
- Year of Creation: 2025
- Medium: Wool, acrylic and cotton yarn, acrylic paint on monk’s cloth
- Dimensions: 31.5 x 24.5 inches
- Location: Jersey City, NJ