state of the art – discovering american art now

I am excited to let you know my work will be a part of the State of the Art exhibition at the Crystal Bridges Museum of America.

This is certain to be a one-of-a-kind exhibition experience – for artists and visitors both – as curators travelled 10,000 miles across the United Sates to visit with nearly 1000 artists. My studio was in that mix of visits as were a handful of AZ artists. I recall the initial phone call and email I received – I really couldn’t believe it ( for the record – I do believe it now ).

Photo by Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

About the exhibit:
State of the Art features 102 artists from across the country selected for inclusion as a result of Crystal Bridges president Don Bacigalupi and assistant curator Chad Alligood’s travels and visits (mostly in person, some via Skype) with artists from every region of the U.S.

About the art works:
· Works in the exhibition include photography, video, ceramics, action/interaction, glass, fiber, installation, paper, painting, and sculpture.

· There are more than 200 total works in the exhibition

· The exhibition will reach beyond the boundaries of the Museum’s temporary exhibition spaces, extending into the permanent collection galleries and activating public and community areas indoors and out. Gallery spaces will total 19,000 square feet.

There is no charge to view the exhibition.

WHO: Crystal Bridges, Museum of American Art
WHAT: STATE OF THE ART – DISCOVERING AMERICAN ART NOW
WHERE: Bentonville, AK
WHEN: September 13, 2014 – January 19, 2015

 For more details click ↓

Visit the press page here on my blog and see the YouTube studio visit and/or read about the show and my work.

There is more to share but this is a good start.
Did I say I am excited? Yes I did. I am.

I could have titled this post No Woman is an Island.

notes on some current influencing visuals and ideas

Because upcoming exhibit What Goes on and What Takes Place (February), will include process, I’m pulling together a few influencing visuals. I am drawn to both text and figures.

Paintings by Romino Shrestha from The Tibetan Art of Healing.

Leonardo da Vinci’s, Vitruvian Man.
The Vitruvian Man is also known as Canon of Proportions, or Proportions of Man.

Vitruvian Man

Christ, the Redeemer, Brazil

The Christ figure.  And I connect to it the Aztec idea of the cross, signifying the point where the horizontal and vertical meet. The physical and the spiritual, man. Woman.

And contemporary artist Bailey Doogan. Ms. Doogan studies the female figure, the one she knows best, her own. The vibrant translucent quality of her painting and the raw darkness of her drawings is provocative.  Her composition has energetic use of materials to inform color (or lack of ), texture, size,  space and figure. I was introduced to both her and her work, while in grad school.  Eventually, after moving to Arizona, I would find myself invited to a group exhibit that included Ms. Doogan. I was fortunate then, to have a private though brief moment to speak with her about her work.

Self Exam In Nation, 2003

Words…text…that I am pulling from her artist statement.

About the body:
Our bodies are full of stories. They are detailed maps of our experiences. This corporeal topography of hair patterns, veins, scars, calluses, wrinkles and flesh (both smooth and crenulated) speak of a life lived.

About process and completion:
The work is never finished. I keep returning, reconsidering, changing.

About learning:
Because of the highly articulated physical presence that I have wanted in my work, over the past fifteen years I have had to reteach myself to paint and draw. That learning process is ongoing.

…notes…current stuff… influencing my days in studio….