About the artist:
Jesse Farrenkopf is a sculptor and installation artist with a deep-rooted passion for creating immersive worlds and transformative spaces. A graduate of the University of Hartford Art School with a BFA in Sculpture and Installation (2011), Jesse spent formative years living and working in New York City before finding a studio warehouse space in Newburgh, NY, in the Hudson Valley.
In 2014, Jesse founded Murmuration, a company specializing in creative builds for brands. Over the years, Murmuration has produced an impressive range of large-scale projects, including a full-scale replica of an Ornithopter for the 2024 Dune: Part Two red carpet premiere - a towering chrome snowman displayed annually in the Oculus in NYC—seen by millions—and even a life size replica of the 'Sanderson sisters 'house for a Hocus Pocus 2 Promotional event.
In 2023, Jesse reached a personal milestone—creating a large-scale piece in his own shop he conceptualized and shared with the Newburgh community and reconnected with his roots as an artist. During the 13th annual Newburgh Open Studios, he opened his space to the public alongside dozens of local artists showcasing their studios.
For the event, Jesse and his team meticulously replicated a 12-foot-tall Cambodian stone head from the 10th century, believed to depict Yaksha, an ancient deity in buddhism. He envisioned an immersive experience where visitors, stepping in off the streets of Newburgh, would find themselves unexpectedly transported into a dense forest—face to face with this towering stone figure. The space was enveloped in deep, ambient meditation music, with dramatic lighting enhancing the atmosphere, creating a moment of awe and reflection, and completely unexpected, especially in the size and apparent weight. This piece would be the catalyst for Public Dominion one year later.
In 2020 Murmuration's work merged into the fine art world. Their team worked directly with the Shigeko Kubota foundation in Beacon, NY to meticulously restore the original ‘Niagara Falls’ Piece by the highly influential 1970’s video artist Shigeko Kubota for display at MoMA in NYC. Not only did his team restore the original piece, they additionally reproduced a second piece in exact likeness, which was feature in her show "Viva Video." Thousands were able to enjoy this piece as it toured three museums across Japan, in her hometown of Niigata, to Osaka, and ending in Tokyo in February 2022. While these projects are rooted in creativity and craftsmanship, they were not personal artistic endeavors—something Jesse had originally envisioned for his workshop and his vocation.
Recreation of Shigeku Kubota's 1985 piece, "Niagara Falls."
After more than a decade of building his shop, team, skills, and equipment—along with growing frustrations within the event industry that ultimately pushed him toward his goals—he built a gallery within his shop to showcase art. Newburgh Open Studios, an annual community attraction, brings hundreds of people to town to explore its vibrant artist scene. This, combined with the infrastructure he had built, created the perfect moment to do something big. When the time was right, Public Dominion was born.
More than just a personal achievement, Public Dominion is a meticulously crafted statement on cultural memory, propaganda, and history. Running on select weekends from September to December 2024, it welcomed hundreds of locals and visitors, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. Now, Jesse is on a mission to find a new temporary home for the installation in a more densely populated area, ensuring this one-of-a-kind experience reaches a broader audience. At the same time, he continues to push his creative limits, developing even larger and more intricate installations designed to inspire.
