Territorial Defense

Jesse Mathes: Territorial Defense

Foothills Art Center

1133 Arapahoe Street, Golden, CO, 80401

August 23–November 2, 2025

Admission: free

Review by Dani/elle Cunningham

Queen Elizabeth I strategically employed her appearance as an instrument of power through makeup, hairstyles, clothing, and accessories, signaling authority and projecting—sometimes threateningly—the expansive reach of her reign. Drawing on Elizabethan style, Jesse Mathes’s body jewelry in Territorial Defense at Foothills Gallery’s Astor House explores themes of authority, protection, and gender that transform jewelry into a form of visual communication. Mathes’s adornments become conceptual and sculptural interventions, extending the body to amplify physical presence and assert spatial dominance, while establishing a dynamic interplay between viewer and object. [1]

Four works in Jesse Mathes’ Territorial Defense exhibition at the Foothills Art Center. Image by Jay Clawson, courtesy of the Foothills Art Center.

Upon entering the upstairs gallery, the viewer is confronted with mannequins possessing distinctly feminine forms. Although Mathes’s does not designate her work as explicitly for female bodies in the exhibition text, the use of headless feminine mannequins underscores a critical tension: the sculptures assert space through sharp, metallic, and oversized constructions, challenging cultural expectations and entrenched norms that women remain small, anonymous, and even invisible in public spheres.

This is magnified by her employment of metal—a material historically associated with strength and masculinity—and imposing scale through a feminine lens. In this context, the works operate not merely as ornaments but as conceptual statements, endowing the body with power, visibility, and resilience. [2]

Seven works by Jesse Mathes, from left to right: Elizabethan Partlet: Orange, 2005, enameled copper wire; Elizabethan Partlet: Gold, 2005, enameled copper wire; Elizabethan Ruff, 2000, enameled copper wire; Elizabethan Ruff, 2000, enameled copper wire; Multiple Sphere Necklace: Gold, 2007, enameled copper wire; Spiral Necklace, Pink and Blue, 2024, enameled copper wire; and Boa, 2008, enameled copper wire. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Mathes’s wearables may be understood in two categories: the monumental and the subtle. The smaller, less conspicuous wearables, positioned near the entrance, are primarily neck adornments reminiscent of collars. They convey the artist’s restraint and draw inspiration from nature, evoking plants, nests, and animal eggs.

Several of these also resemble contemporary jewelry found in high-end department stores, yet their handcrafted assembly and refined materials distinguish them as singular works of art. The exhibition includes a series of works in this mode, seven of which are installed linearly in this section of the gallery without mannequins. This presentation, distinct from other mannequin-displayed works, emphasizes Mathes’s sustained exploration of color and repetition.

Jesse Mathes, Elizabeth Collar, One, 2001, sterling silver and titanium. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

A side view of Jesse Mathes’s Elizabeth Collar, One, 2001, sterling silver and titanium. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

One of the mannequin works, Elizabeth Collar, One, is obviously inspired by Elizabethan fashion, flaring up behind the mannequin’s neck and absent head like the hood of a cobra. Culminating in an intricately arced cascade of materials down the chest, it resembles lace—the silver and iridescent blue metal twisting delicately. This collar is seemingly one continuous piece, adding to its sturdy and armor-like, protective aspects. In this way, the artist balances elegance with defense, and regality with control. 

Jesse Mathes, Spiral Knit Neckpiece, 2021, sterling silver and silver-plated wire with clear enamel coating. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

A close-up view of Jesse Mathes’s Spiral Knit Neckpiece, 2021, sterling silver and silver-plated wire with clear enamel coating. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

In contrast, Spiral Knit Neckpiece employs a different formal language. As its title suggests, it is constructed from spirals intricately configured into a wearable form. Echoing the structural presence of Elizabeth Collar, this gold-enamel-coated ornament extends across the chest with tubular forms that simultaneously evoke fuzzy cacti, coiled springs, and industrial scrub pads. Biomorphic and mechanical, substantial yet weightless, the work exemplifies Mathes’s capacity to generate provocative contradictions—objects that operate in multiple conceptual registers simultaneously.

Jesse Mathes, Elizabethan Gown, 2002, enameled copper. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Serving as a bridge from the monumental section, Mathes’s floor-length, strapless blue metal Elizabethan Gown commands attention while distinguishing itself from the predominantly upper-body wearables elsewhere in the exhibition. The gown interrogates the concept of armor, reimagined for the court rather than the battlefield, challenging conventional understandings of form and function while acknowledging that courtly women, too, required and still require protection.

A detail view of Jesse Mathes’s Elizabethan Gown, 2002, enameled copper. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Accompanied by a coordinating neckpiece, the gown demonstrates a conceptual versatility commensurate with its striking visual presence, suggesting that, sometimes, an entire body needs defending.

Jesse Mathes, Japanese Basketweave Neckpiece, 1, 2019, brass. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Within the monumental section, the Japanese Basketweave Neckpiece series exemplifies its eponymous style. Constructed in brass rather than the sterling silver of some of the smaller objects, these works extend around the neck to create a protective ring. Crisscrossed and interlocking elements add visual complexity and additional layers of defense, illustrating Mathes’s engagement with themes of protection, vulnerability, and the negotiation of personal and social boundaries.

Jesse Mathes, Farthingale, 2003, pewter, brass, wood, magnets, and paint. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

There isn’t an object in the exhibition that interrogates boundaries louder than Farthingale, one of the largest and most materially diverse wearables. Constructed from wood, pewter, magnets, and paint, this wearable features individual wooden elements that project more than a foot from the wearer’s waist, evoking porcupine quills or cactus spines.

A side view of Jesse Mathes’s Farthingale, 2003, pewter, brass, wood, magnets, and paint. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

The striking blue Mathes employs here and at other key moments in the exhibition signals caution; observation while maintaining an aura of danger. Despite its defensive references, the work remains elegant and mesmerizing, shifting dramatically with the viewer’s perspective and appearing hypnotic when viewed from below.

A side view of Jesse Mathes’s Fence, 2004, aluminum. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

A detail view of Jesse Mathes’s Fence, 2004, aluminum. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Fence forms another dramatic wearable, consisting of thin rails or spikes encircling the wearer’s head. Cast in muted gray, the work emphasizes sculptural form over color, blending subtly into the environment. The spikes extend naturally from the wearer’s shoulders, suggesting that it is an extension of the body while also functioning as a literal protective barrier. It establishes a zone of defense around the wearer, warding off aggression and transforming the body into a site of both visual and conceptual authority. Even the shadows it casts evoke tension and intrigue.

Jesse Mathes, Asymmetrical Geometric Neckpiece: One, 2019, brass. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Mathes also engages with geometry in a series of wearables that, while less visually dramatic, contribute to her sustained exploration of form and material. Their polished gold surfaces and precise, angular constructions reflect rigorous engagement with structure and repetition, demonstrating how restraint and predictability can coexist with inventive design strategies. These works function as studies in formal clarity, highlighting the interplay of materiality, surface, and spatial presence within Mathes’s broader sculptural and wearable practice.

Jesse Mathes, Asymmetrical Geometric Neckpiece: Two, 2019, brass. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Asymmetrical Geometric Neckpiece: Two extends Mathes’s engagement with the Elizabethan collar. Unlike her densely constructed “cage” works, this piece utilizes open spaces, permitting viewers to see the wearer’s body while still offering protection. Its design conveys both invitation and caution: the gaps suggest accessibility, while the angular forms create a subtle barrier, producing a tactile and conceptual tension.

Three works by Jesse Mathes, from left to right: Lace Neckpiece: Orange, 2009, enameled copper wire; Multiple Sphere Necklace: Gold, 2017, enameled copper wire; and Elizabethan Lace Ruff, 2017, enameled copper wire. Image by Dani/elle Cunningham.

Jesse Mathes’s exhibition Territorial Defense transforms body jewelry into a powerful medium of authority, protection, and presence. The artist succeeds at both pronounced and quieter works, interrogating historical and contemporary understandings of gender, power, and space. By fusing Elizabethan references with innovative materials and sculptural forms, Mathes creates wearables that are simultaneously defensive and inviting, delicate and formidable, intimate and imposing. The exhibition ultimately affirms the potential of adornment not merely to decorate but to assert, protect, and amplify presence, positioning the body as a site where beauty and conceptual expression intermingle.

Dani/elle Cunningham (she/her) is an artist, scholar, and independent curator. She writes about science fiction, gender, sexuality, and disability, with an emphasis on mental illness. The co-founder of chant cooperative, an artist co-op, she holds a master’s degree in art history and museum studies from the University of Denver.

[1] From the exhibition statement.

[2] The exhibition text mentions that the show was inspired by the artist’s experiences of verbal and physical abuse from men and her wondering about ways women “could establish personal boundaries." She also writes about gender, power, and defense mechanisms of animals on her website: www.jessemathes.com/large-scale-adornment.html.