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In a recent review, the New York Times dubbed my work “oddball assemblages,” and aptly so. My three-dimensional collages combine found objects with surface design, sometimes touching on narrative themes. I’m also drawn to religious and political icons, inspired by a continuing fascination with indigenous or popular culture and world religions. By juxtaposing these icons with an eclectic assortment of objects, the viewer is challenged to consider common images within an altered context.
In each of my constructions, surface design is the key component. Czech seed beads adorn objects in colorful patterns, camouflaging their original circumstance, allowing us to see them as pure form without their usual connotations. The process is slow and meticulous, zen-like, with the choice of forms motivating color schemes and iconography. Certain themes continue to resonate for me. The dolls I frequently include in my constructions explore dreams of childhood while removing them from the realm of cherished playthings. For me, musical instruments represent the lyrical joy that music imparts to our lives and hearkens back to youthful dreams of virtuosity. Birds, in their quicksilver beauty, represent ultimate freedom.
I’m also now working on two-dimensional pieces, using tiny colored paper dots to embellish found images such as postcards. My goal in covering the surfaces of sculptural objects or flat images, is to transform the mundane and allow us to imagine the magic within the familiar. |
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Education Kansas City Art Institute, BFA Drake University Exhibitions 2013 Featured artist, SOFA Chicago Group show, Exhibit A, Corning, NY Group show, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ Group show, Chautauqua, NY Group show, Porter Contemporary, New York, NY Group show, Museum of American Glass, Wheaton, NJ Solo show, Speakeasy Gallery, Boonton, NJ Group show, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA 2012 Group show, Porter Contemporary, New York, NY Coming Home, installation, Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO Solo Show, Hunterdon Museum, Clinton, NJ Featured artist, SOFA NY & SOFA Chicago Teapot, group show, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA 2011 Featured artist at SOFA NY Group show, Lyons Wier Gallery, NYC Teapot, group show, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA Group show, LOOT, Museum of Arts & Design, NYC 2010 Solo show, Lyons Wier Gallery, NYC Teapot, group show, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO Featured artist at SOFA NY, SOFA West & Pulse Miami 2009 Pulse Miami Group show, Lyons Wier Gallery New Jersey Arts Annual, Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ Vessel, group show, Rupert Ravens Gallery, Newark, NJ Jack Fischer Gallery, group show, San Francisco, CA Endless Summer, Group Exhibition, Lyons Wier Gallery, NYC Art Bazaar, Lyons Wier Gallery, NYC Cultural Orgy, The Ice Gallery, Newark, NJ American Craft Council Show, Baltimore Metro 26, City Without Walls, Newark, NJ African Americana, Jersey City, NJ 2008 Celebrating Beads, the journey of..., Bead Museum, DC New Jersey Arts Annual: Tribal Roots, Montclair Art Museum 2007 Celebrate Art 2007, St. John’s Church, Union City, NJ 2005 New Jersey Arts Annual: Craft, Jersey City Museum Employment 2010 & 2013 Instructor, 5 day workshop, Peter’s Valley Craft Center 2010 Author, Ol’ Bloo’s Boogie-Woogie Band & Blues Ensemble, Peachtree Publishers 1981 - 2008 Freelance Designer (client list upon request) 2002 Author, Puss in Cowboy Boots, Simon & Schuster’s Books for Young Readers 1976 - 1981 Artist, Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, MO Other Experience 2013 “Shepot” featured in 500 Teapots, Lark Books LOOT committee, Museum of Arts & Design, NYC 2012 3 necklaces featured in 500 Beaded Jewelry, Lark Books "Poopyhead" featured in Humor In Craft, Schiffer Publishing Speaker, Fashion Institute of Technology LOOT committee, Museum of Arts & Design, NYC 2011 Featured in American Craft Magazine 2010 Featured in Zink Magazine 2009 “Table” featured in 500 Tables, Lark Books2007 “Bad Baby” featured in 500 Handmade Dolls, Lark Books 2006 Featured on HGTV’s “Crafters Coast to Coast” Honors 2009 Winner, first annual Lyons Wier Art Bazaar award Honorable Mention, Artists Wanted, Art vs Design Competition |
l'Oeil du Globe - Jan Huling
