Jane Hammond is an American artist known for combining found images in unexpected and surreal ways. Her goal is to create images that are “as complicated, inconsistent, varied, multifaceted as you are, as I am, as life is.”

To create her paintings, Hammond developed a system she calls her METHODOLOGY. She collected 272 illustrations from books about subjects such as science, religion, alchemy, and magic. She then rearranged these images in different ways to create new relationships and meanings in each painting.

Hammond also created her own rules for making her artwork. She sometimes limited the number of colors she could use, worked with specific canvas sizes, and used images from a set of recurring symbols.

Poetry and music have also been important sources of inspiration throughout Hammond’s career. Avant-garde composer John Cage has been a major influence on her work and artistic process. From 1993 to 2001, Hammond also worked closely with poet John Ashbery, who gave her a list of poetic titles that became the starting point for a series of more than 60 paintings.

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