Jordan Decker

Artist - Illustrator - Graphic Designer

The name "Peanut Butter People" comes from the childhood nickname my dad used to call me (peanut or peanut butter). As a gender-fluid individual, I am in constant dialogue with the different versions of myself. The masculine, the feminine, my inner critic and inner child all present themselves at different times throughout my art-making process, so "People" was chosen in lieu of "Person" to fully encapsulate the multifaced nature of my practice. Additionally, with my interests in such a wide variety of mediums, "People" eases the pressure to have a recognizable stylistic through line in all my pieces, allowing me to experiment without feeling like I need to stick to "my style."

I have always been interested in people; people as beings, as animals, as one species among thousands. I consider my own sense of humanity often. As an autistic person, I can observe the behavior of others from an almost “outside” perspective. The social rules that don’t mean much to me, yet seem to be a foundational human experience to everyone else, become less intrinsically human the more I examine them. If this is what it means to be human, why does it not come naturally to me? For better or worse, I was born with the biological markings that delineate me as belonging to the species class of Homo sapiens. Yet, I need to be taught how to be a person. How much of what is considered to be inherently true about people is just learned behavior? With my practice, I explore this angle of the human condition, utilizing humor, memory, and multisensory experiences to inform my pieces.

Shows and Exhibitions

2025 How do you throw a brick through the window… Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston MA

2025 And Then There is The Never Ending Problem of Everything Else, Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston MA

2024 SMFA Annual Art Sale, Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston MA

2024 Slapstick, Monk Gallery, Boston MA

2024 SMFA Annual Print and Paper Show, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA

2023 SMFA Annual Art Sale, Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston MA

2023 SMFA Graphic Novel Club Art Show, Terrace Gallery, Boston MA

2023 Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, Boston University Fuller Building, Boston MA

2023 SMFA Annual Print and Paper Show, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA

2023 SMFA SGA Show, Terrace Gallery, Boston MA

2022 Boston Arts Book Fair, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston MA

2019 Donovan Art Studio Oil Painting Show, Town Hall Community Gallery, Stow MA

2019 Parker Charter Annual Arts and Crafts Show, F.W. Parker Charter Essential School, Devens MA

2019 Open Studio Show, Donovan Art Studio, Stow MA

2019 Landscape Painting, Fitchburg Museum of Art Community Gallery, Fitchburg MA