statement

My drawings correspond to a style which I call "composite photorealism" or "imaginative photorealism."  Instead of drawing from a single source photo as other photorealistic artists do, I draw from a multitude of photographs integrated into what I consider a more creative, imaginative, and personal image, thus permitting photorealism to merge freely with the imagination. I develop my drawings through a series of increasingly organized drafts, and I engage in an intensive process of producing and selecting photographs for my drawings, and these photographs impart veracity and "believability" to the imagined realities I create. Although my photographs could stand by themselves as artworks, I use them as a means to an end -- the finished drawing itself. I place an emphasis on time-intensive craft in my work because I'm most gratified by such technical and psychological challenges. Currently, I'm exploring the theme of storytelling, narration, and drawing from literature. I'm passionate about Franz Kafka‚s literature, and I'm working on a series of drawings based on Kafka's stories. Thus, the themes in my work overlap with Kafkan themes, which explore family relationships, the relationship of the artist to society, sickness, death, and the navigation of systems of power and bureaucracy.

bio

born:1980, Ojai, California

education:

Stanford University, BA, 2003                                        

selected awards/honors

Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, 1st Place, for the drawing "Franz Kafka's The Judgment." Minneapolis, MN, 2009.
Elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Stanford University, 2007.
Barbara and Sandy Dornbusch Award for Best Painter in a Graduating Class. Stanford University, 2003.
Humanities and Creative Arts Major Grant, for book illustrations and poetry. Stanford University, 2003.

selected publications

"Swimming with a Hundred Year Old Snapping Turtle." Poems by Freya Manfred, Red Dragonfly Press. Various Illustrations. Minneapolis, MN. 2007.
"My Only Home." Poems by Freya Manfred, Red Dragonfly Press. Illustrations by Ethan Rowan Pope and Nicholas Bly Pope. Minneapolis, MN. 2003.
"Dark Fire." Poems by Nicholas Bly Pope, Giant Horse Printing. Illustrations by Ethan Rowan Pope and Nicholas Bly Pope. San Francisco, CA. 2003.

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Pope Brothers Art Exhibit, Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, MN, 2009.
Pope Brothers Art Exhibit, Edina Art Fair, Edina, MN, 2009.
Cubberly Art Gallery Exhibition. Senior Show. Stanford University.

selected group shows

Blake School Alumni Art Exhibition. Blake Upper School Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, 2009.
"Voice to Vision" Exhibition. Contributing artist and assistant to Director of Voice to Vision. Waterloo, Iowa, 2009.
"Fresh Works" Exhibition.  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2008.
Robbin Gallery Exhibition. Robbin Gallery, Robbinsdale, MN, 2008.