statement
My work combines references from historical portraiture, contemporary DIY culture, and a love of the unexpected and absurd. Like an ill-fitting handmade sweater, the cozies are about the claustrophobia of relationships. They represent the ways in which our closest relationships can often walk the fine line between loving and smothering. In my current Cozy Portrait series, I create a custom cozy for each person in the photograph – often my close friends and family, identified by the portrait title. Some of the portraits take a week to complete, and some take a year. From beginning to end, the piece is defined by my relationship, dialog, and collaboration with the person being cozied. The process and the resulting portraits are very specific to each person. But by covering the majority of a person's identifiable features, they also become abstract and universal. While the final form is a digital photographic print, for me, the piece begins with the first conversation, and the first question: "Can I cozy you?"
bio
born: 1980, Minot, North Dakota
education
University of Alabama, MLIS, 2010
University of Arizona, MFA, 2007
University of Alabama at Birmingham, BFA, 2003
selected awards/honors
3rd Prize, New Waves 2013, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, 2013
Best in Show, Virginia Artists 2012, Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, 2012
Graduate Council Fellowship Award, University of Alabama, 2009
Purchase Award, Southeastern Juried Exhibition, Mobile Museum of Art, 2008
selected solo or two-person exhibits
Yawning Beagles, Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, Hampton, VA, 2013
Cozied, University of Alabama at Birmingham Visual Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL, 2011
His and Hers, University of West Florida Art Gallery, Pensacola, FL, 2010
Disturbed Domestic, Lionel Rombach Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 2006
selected group shows
Home Sweet Home, Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA
Material Witness, Agnes Scott College Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2013
Unbound! 2, Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2013
Portraits 2012, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, 2012
|
