statement

In a way, what I am trying to do here is to point out that for many of us, our relationship to nature– perhaps once authentic–has shifted to be merely a relationship with the 'idea' of nature. It's often easier to find beauty in the natural world once it's been photographed, edited, cropped, and sanitized. I collect and assemble found objects and images that are stand-ins for nature as source material. Then, by drawing what is obviously a facsimile, I attempt to monumentalize the separation between myself and the signified, using the intense act of observation as a futile means of getting closer to the things I describe. Through obsessive realism I explore the nature of memory, nostalgia, and perception– ultimately creating a series of representations of representations, revealing the great distance between myself and the source.

bio

born:1973, Ann Arbor, Michigan

education:

California College of the Arts, MFA, 2008
Oberlin College, BA, 1995

selected awards/honors

Tournesol Award Finalist, Headlands Center for the Arts, 2010
Merit Scholarship, California College of the Arts, 2007-2008

selected publications

New American Paintings, Juried Exhibition in Print, Issue 91, 2010
Color & Color, Black and White, Issue 2, 2010
International Drawing Annual 4, Juried Exhibition in Print, 2009
Studio Visit Magazine, Juried Exhibition in Print, Issue 5, 2009

selected solo or two-person exhibits

As Evidenced..., solo exhibition, David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO, 2010
Buckled and Pinned, solo exhibition, Curiosity Shoppe, San Francisco, CA 2009

selected group shows

Who is Afraid of Pattern?, Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, NY, 2010
San Francisco Fine Art Fair, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
James Hyde: Redi-Mix, Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, NY
Scope New York, David B. Smith Gallery, New York, NY