JILL DOWNEN

Hard Hat Optional

JILL DOWNEN: HARD HAT OPTIONAL
April 10 - May 9, 2009

Bruno David Gallery

3721 Washington Boulevard
Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A.
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
Director: Bruno L. David

This catalogue was published in conjunction

with the exhibition Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional
Editor: Bruno L. David
Catalog Designer: Yoko Kiyoi
Design Assistants: Sage A. David and Claudia R. David
Printed in USA

All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Jill Downen

Photos by Richard Sprengeler

Cover Image: Jill Downen: Component 9:

Breast Blocks on Palette (detail), 2009
Mixed media, size variable

Copyright © 2009 Bruno David Gallery, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery, Inc.
Contents

Acknowledgement

Essay by Andrea L. Ferber

Afterword by Bruno L. David

Checklist of the Exhibition

Biography

1
Acknowledgement

2
Jill Downen would like to acknowledge the following institutions for the resdency experiences
and support that directly impacted Hard Hat Optional:

The MacDowell Colony

The National Endowment for the Arts

The Leon Levy Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

The Ragdale Foundation

3
Essay by Andrea L. Ferber

4
Hard Hat Optional unveils Jill Downen’s most recent manifestation of an installed environment intended to heighten awareness
of the relationship between one’s body and space. As the title of this temporary exhibit suggests, the proliferation of objects
around the gallery in seemingly haphazard order conjures a construction site. One must traverse and navigate through the
built environment, carefully stepping around fragile plaster skins on the floor, hand-sculpted forms of all sizes, and precarious
wooden beams. Pallets, crates, and makeshift frames support stacks of figurative plaster fragments and amorphous parts.
Sandbags brace otherwise unstable areas.

Yet the whole site is pristine; the clean whiteness of every element and the near-silence of the space contradict typical char-
acteristics of actual construction sites. These subtle aspects of Hard Hat Optional are more suggestive of a museum storage
space, especially one full of fleshy neo-neoclassical sculpture. Comparisons to either kind of space relate in that both usually
have restricted access; construction zones and museum storage areas are dynamic sites—in states of continuous flux—where
bodies labor rather than relax or contemplate. Public space and private space are conflated; moreover, the installation borders
on chaos yet is resolutely a site of meditation.

The employment of indeterminacy reveals a turn in the artist’s approach, one which she says is the result of “a deeper level of
trust in [her]self as an artist.” Rather than establishing a set arrangement for the sculptural objects in advance, the layout was
worked out in situ. Architectural methods are part of the artist’s process. Downen created and carefully considered modes of
display in a scale-model maquette but still allowed herself the artistic freedom to make drastic changes for the installation’s
final realization.

Of critical importance is the individual’s phenomenological encounter of space and the site’s temporary nature. Alex Potts
describes Rosalind Krauss’ understanding of the connection between phenomenology and the sculptural as “the bodily sensa-
tions produced in the viewer by the disparate apperceptions she or he ha[s] of the [work]’s configuration as seen from different
standpoints.”i. Though still, the environment rejects stasis. Furthermore, one’s physical body and perception of their body
image creates entirely different experiences for each visitor to this installation; height, for example, and how comfortable one

5
feels moving around the space generates varying modes of participation and reaction. If created elsewhere, the result would be
an entirely different incarnation which could include many of the elements shown currently, but not all. The context and cleanli-
ness signify deliberateness, yet raise questions about artifice: are the wooden props and sandbags necessary buttresses for the
sagging forms, or placed solely for experiential interest? Downen’s work embraces these ambiguous dialectics.

Each object in this installation brings its own unique dialogue of textures, volume, shape, and possible referent to the conversa-
tion in and about space. Most of the sculpted white plaster forms appear silky smooth, almost fluid, yet retain a matte surface
with occasional evidence of air bubbles. Though the institutional context imposes limitations on direct contact with the art,
these objects beg to be touched. Like Bernini and countless other sculptors who could produce the illusion of soft flesh from
marble, Downen’s forms transcend their materiality. Yet raw, apparently unworked sides left exposed—indeed, highlighted by
the arrangement of forms—and the exaggerated ambiguity of shape place Downen’s work squarely in the language of abstrac-
tion. Blocks evoking female breasts are stacked on one pallet, every one unique and sensuous but disturblingly disembodied.
Other surfaces suggest voluptuous posteriors yet are similarly severed.

Confronted with a multiplicity of fragments, audiences might consider how the pieces relate; if they originally fit together, or
what, if anything, they could construct. The absurd state of the site and its infinite potential become conceptual problems each
individual must consider. As geographer Yi-Fu Tuan writes, “The built environment, like language, has the power to define and
refine sensibility. It can sharpen and enlarge consciousness. Without architecture feelings about space must remain diffuse and
fleeting.”ii. In the case of Hard Hat Optional, the sculptural objects stacked throughout the space (including unfinished plywood
leaning against one wall and a plumb line hanging from the ceiling) and the corpulent walls bring attention to the specific ar-
chitecture of the gallery, with the effect that there is no division between art and site.

—Andrea L. Ferber

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Andrea L. Ferber is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her writing has appeared in Critical Matrix.
This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

i. Alex Potts, The Sculptural Imagination: Figurative, Modernist, Minimalist. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2000, p. 209.
ii. Yi-Fu Tuan, Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1977, p. 107.

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Afterwords by Bruno L. David

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I am pleased to exhibit a new series of sculpture and drawing by Jill Downen at the Bruno David Gallery. Support for the creation
of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding. Jill
Downen’s remarkable and compelling sculptures makes her one the most impressive artists of the gallery.

Jill Downen’s latest work, Hard Hat Optional, resembles a construction site, filled with anatomical forms reminiscent of sensual
bodily elements, pockets of empty space, and areas of densely packed material. She stacks, leans, and places sculptural and
architectural forms to be seen not as individual pieces, but rather as a complete installation. The exhibit emphasizes the tem-
poral nature and transformation of place. Downen invites viewers to question whether the site is in a process of construction or
deconstruction, with seductive fragments, sensitive folds of architectural skin, and stacks of flesh-like blocks. The work employs
an indeterminate nature and offers viewers an opportunity to experience the space and directly interact with precariously bal-
anced building materials and forms.

Peripheral vision became part of the inspiration, process, and concept of Hard Hat Optional when Downen began to notice
construction sites. In this exhibit, she aims to bring qualities from these overlooked sites out of the periphery and into direct
conversation with the viewer. She captures the temporal energies and unsettling tension that objects create in both their physi-
cal weight and spatial movement. The idea of architecture as flesh is opened, exposing the infrastructures and energies of the
sensual building blocks. Still resembling bodily structures, the sculptural forms reveal varied surfaces; chiseled, cut, punctured,
scarred and smoothed. Downen urges viewers to imagine these pieces as parts of a building that is in a state of becoming.

Hard Hat Optional reveals the relationship between the objects and the space in which they are situated. Although the space
feels like a construction site, it is presented free of grit and grime. Palettes, sand bags and lumber are all part of the installation,
carefully placed to create a distinct conversation with the viewer. The exhibit reveals the shared substructures of architecture
and the human body, as well as the temporal nature of their creation.

This is her third solo exhibition with the Bruno David Gallery. Recently, Downen was awarded three residencies at the Mac Dow-
ell Colony in Peterborough, NH; Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL and; Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT. In 2007, she was
awarded the Cite International des Arts Residency, Paris, France. In 2003, she received a Great Rivers Biennial Grant, sponsored
by Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and the Gateway Foundation, and in 2004, she exhibited “The Posture of Place” as part
of the first Great Rivers Biennial. Her art has been reviewed in numerous publications, including Sculpture Magazine, Art Papers,
The New York Times, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Downen holds an M.F.A. in sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis
as a Danforth Scholar and a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute in painting and printmaking.

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Checklist of the Exhibition and Images

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Component 1: Large Crate andf Two Blocks, 2009
mixed media, size variable

12
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Component 2: Rack, Sandbags, 40 Architectual Cartilage Stripes, 2009
mixed media, size variable

14
15
Component 2: Rack, Sandbags, 40 Architectual Cartilage Stripes (detail), 2009
mixed media, size variable

16
17
Component 3: Architectual Bone, 2009
mixed media, size variable

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Component 4: Architectual Skin, 2009
mixed media, size variable

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(from right to left)

Component 5: Plumline, 2009

Component 3: Architectual Bone, 2009

Component 4: Architectual Skin, 2009

mixed media, size variable

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Component 6: Block and Support Arm, 2009
mixed media, size variable

24
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Component 7: Wall Block with Support Beam and Sandbags, 2009
mixed media, size variable

26
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Component 7: Wall Block with Support Beam and Sandbags (detail), 2009
mixed media, size variable

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Component 8: Tendon and Palette, 2009
mixed media, size variable

30
31
Component 9: Breast Blocks on Palette, 2009
mixed media, size variable

32
33
Component 9: Breast Blocks on Palette (detail), 2009
mixed media, size variable

34
35
Component 11: Architectual Skin, 2009
mixed media, size variable

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(left)
Component 12: Tendon Block, 2009

(right)
Component 15: Lumber Pile with Sandbags and Compressed Block, 2009

mixed media, size variable

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Component 14: Small Crate with Posterior Block, 2009
mixed media, size variable

40
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(clockwise from top)

Component 15: Lumber Pile with Sandbags and Compressed Block, 2009

Component 12: Tendon Block, 2009

Component 14: Small Crate with Posterior Block, 2009

Component 13: Small Crate with Two Blocks Inside, 2009

mixed media, size variable

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Component 17: Tendon Palette, 2009
mixed media, size variable

44
45
Hybrida 1, 2008
gypsum and matte medium on paper,
11 x 18 inches (27.94 x 45.72 cm)

46
47
Hybrida 3, 2008
gypsum and matte medium on paper,
11 x 18 inches (27.94 x 45.72 cm)

48
49
Hybrida 9, 2008
gypsum and matte medium on paper,
11 x 15 inches (27.94 x 38.10 cm)

50
51
Hybrida 15, 2008
gypsum and matte medium on paper,
11 x 15 inches (27.94 x 38.10 cm)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional at Bruno David Gallery, 2009 (installation view - detail)

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JILL DOWNEN
Lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri

EDUCATION

2001 M.F.A., Sculpture

Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1989 B.F.A., Painting / Printmaking
Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2009 Hard Hat Optional, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO catalogue
2008 Drawing in Dialogue with Luce Irigaray, Rosenberg Gallery Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
(in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Luce Irigaray Circle Conference)
2007 Corps et Bâtiment á Paris, Cité Internationale des Arts galleries, Paris, France
In & Out of Space, 2-person with Dean Kessmann, Murray State University, KY
2006 Overflow, 1708 Gallery, 2-person with Charles Gick, curated by Elizabeth Keller, Richmond, VA catalogue
(dis)embody, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO catalogue
Uneasy Opposition, Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL catalogue
2004 Posture of Place, Great Rivers Biennial, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO catalogue
2003 Body/Building: Involuntary Anatomies, Ninth Street Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2002 Rubber Wall, A. R. C. Gallery, Frontspace Installation, Chicago, IL
2001 Anxious Architecture, Purdue University Beelke Gallery, Lafayette, IN
MFA Thesis Exhibit, In-Form Gallery, Lemp Brewery, St. Louis, MO
2000 The 116 N. 40th Series, North Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1995 Visions of the Numinous, Community Gallery, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Church Library, Kansas City, MO
1989 Rites of Passage, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2008 Hybrida, works on paper, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO

Cornerstone, New Media Project Room, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO

67
2007 Paper Now, I-Space, guest curator Chris Kahler, Chicago, IL
ArtsDesire, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO catalogue
Perspectives, Brooks Museum of Art, curated by Michael Rooks, Memphis, TN
Flat Files, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, curated by Katie Holten, St. Louis, MO
2006 Flat Files, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, curated by Andrea Green, St. Louis, MO
Overflow, (with Charles Gick),1708 Gallery, curated by Elizabeth Keller, Richmond, VA
Symbiosis, Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Millikin University, Decatur, IL
2005 Inaugural Exhibition, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2004 Projects ‘04, Islip Art Museum Long Island Carriage House, East Islip, NY
Washington University School of Art Faculty Exhibit, Kemper Museum, St. Louis, MO
20th Anniversary Exhibit, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO
Danforth Scholars Exhibit, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
1984-2004 Twentieth Anniversary Celebration, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art,
September 17-October 16, St. Louis, MO
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Art..., Elliot Smith Contemporary Art,
July 9-September 4, St. Louis, MO
Women Only, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, April 16 - May 22, St. Louis, MO
2003 Binational Art Exhibit, U.S. Embassy, curator Maria Velasco, Asuncion, Paraguay catalogue
Corners, Museum of Contemporary Art, curator Erica France, Ft. Collins, CO catalogue
Wear Structure, Open-End Gallery & Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL
29th Bradley National Print & Drawing Exhibition, Bradley University, Peoria, IL
Paper in Particular National Exhibition, Columbia College, Columbia, MO
2002 Three Women Artists, Meramec Art Gallery, invitational, St. Louis, MO
3 x 3, Meramec Art Gallery, faculty show, St. Louis, MO
2001 Heuristic Origins, Second Floor Contemporary, curated by David Hall, Memphis, TN
Exposure 4: The Spaces In-Between, Park Avenue Gallery, curated by Terry Suhre, St. Louis, MO
Group Show, Winifsky Gallery, Salem State College, Salem, MA
4th Annual Invitational, North Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2000 Shack Town, Des Lee Gallery, curated by Michael Williams, St. Louis, MO
4th Annual Critical Mass One Night Stand, Crowe T. Brooks Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Super-imposed, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
6th Annual Regional Exhibit, St. Charles Community College, St. Peters, MO
Structually Speaking, Art St. Louis, curated by Adrian Luchini, St. Louis, MO
1999 2nd Annual Invitational, North Gallery, Ferguson, MO
Contemporary Women Artist XI, Meramec Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
5th Annual Regiona Exhibition, St. Charles County Community College, St. Peters, MO
1999 Golden Mean, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
1995 Artists and Their Teachers, Hendren Gallery, Lindenwood University, St. Louis, MO

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1994 Art St. Louis X, The Exhibition, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibition, Animalia Gallery, Saugatuck, MI
1993 7th Annual Ecclesiastical Art Exhibit, Historic Trinity, Detroit, MI
1992 Two-Person Exhibition, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO
1989 Group Show, Watson Ess Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Two-Person Show, Jackson County State Bank, Kansas City, MO
13th Annual KCRCHE Art Exhibition, Kansas City Artists Coalition, Kansas City, MO

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cooper, Ivy “Downen Takes a Fresh Direction”, St. Louis Beacon, May 4, 2009
Bonetti, David “Jill Downen at Bruno David”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 3, 2009
Ferber, Andrea L. “Jill Downen”, Essay, Catalogue, Bruno David Gallery Publications
Baran, Jessica “Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional”, RiverFront Times, April 30, 2009
Caplinger, Hesse “Don’t Think of a Construction Site”, Examiner.com, April 25, 2009
Beal, Dickson “Construction Zone” West End Word”, April 15, 2009
Russel Stefene “Jill Downen: Hard Hat Optional”, St. Louis magazine, April 10, 2009
Artner, Alan. “Paper Now”, Chicago Tribune, September 21, 2007
Hughes, Jeffrey “Jill Downen”, Art Papers, July-August 2006
Beall, Hugh. “Jill Downen at Bruno David Gallery”, Illusion Junkie, April, 2006. Web Video.
http://ia310117.us.archive.org/1/items/Jill_Downen_at_Bruno_David/downendavid.mov
Humphries, Kim “Jill Downen: (dis)embody.” Bruno David Gallery’ Series of Introductions, April 2006
Sieloff, Alison and “April is for Art Lovers.” Riverfront Times, April 6-12, 2006
Friswold, Paul
Fitzgerald, Shannon. “Uneasy Opposition.” Catalogue Essay. January, 2006.
Wagner, Ashley. “Uneasy Opposition.” The Daily Eastern News, Charleston, IL. January 19, 2006.
Miller, Rob. “’Over hung’ show or ‘Hung over’ critic?” Saintlouisart, November 17, 2005.
http://saintlouisart.blogspot.com/
Cooper, Ivy. “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Riverfront Times, November 9, 2005.
Bonetti, David. “Bruno David Gallery”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 9, 2005
Crone, Tomas. “Bruno David Gallery”, 52nd City, October 2005.
http://blog.52ndcity.com/archives
Beall, Hugh. “The Bruno buzz”, West End Word, October 26, 2005.
Miller, Rob. “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Saintlouisart, October 25, 2005.
http://saintlouisart.blogspot.com/
Beall, Hugh. “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Illusion Junkie, October 25, 2005.
Web Video. http://illusionjunkie.blogspot.com/2005/10/bruno-david-inaugural-exhibition.html

69
Bonetti, David. “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 20, 2005
Sieloff, Alison. “Grand Grand Center”, Riverfront Times, October 19, 2005
Bonetti, David. “Gallery musical chairs”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 1, 2005
Murphy, Anne. “Art News”, The Healthy Planet, September 2005.
http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/sept05_artfulliving.htm
Castro, Jan Garden. “Three Rivers Biennial,” Sculpture Magazine, New York, January 2005. p. 71
Bonetti, David. “Art in 2004,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 2, 2005
“Artist Celebrate Elliot Smith With Works Incorporating 20,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2004.
p. F6. St. Louis, MO.
Cooper, Ivy. “1984-2004 Twentieth Anniversary Celebration At Elliot Smith”, Riverfront Times, September 29-October 5,
2004, p. 178. St. Louis, MO.
Harrison, Helen A. “Projects ’04,” The New York Times, September 26, 2004
Hughes, Jeffrey. “Jill Downen and the Posture of Place.” Art Works. Washington University in St. Louis. Fall 2004, vol. 9.
Bonetti, David. “Installation Art is contemporary” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 1, 2004
Zapf, Rudy “Your Are Here, Great Rivers Biennial,” Playback: St. Louis Pop Culture, August 2004
Cooper, Ivy “2004 Great Rivers Biennial Exhibition,” Riverfront Times, July 28, 2004
Woodcok, Tim “Off the Wall,” West End Word, cover story, July 21, 2004
“Cityscape,” Converstion with Michael Sampson, NPR 90.7 KWMU, July 16, 2004
Bonetti, David “Breat Rivers Exhibit gets contemporary in the Flow,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 11, 2004
Cooper, Ivy “Surviving St. Louis,” Art Papers, May/June 2004
Bonetti, David “Legends of the Fall - Critic’ Picks,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 2, 2004. p. 2 (Get Out). St. Louis, MO
Callahan, Theresa “Downtown Gallery Showcases Five Emerging Artists’ Work,” West End Word, January 21, 2004
Martelli, Rose. “Smith Elliot: The Gallery Looks In The Mirror For Its 20th.”, Riverfront Times, September 15-21, 2004,
p. 32. St. Louis, MO.
Bonetti, David. “Everything Show”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 2004. p. F8. St. Louis, MO.
Cooper, Ivy. “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Art...”, Riverfront Times, July 28-August 3, 2004, p. 42.
St. Louis, MO.
Bonetti, David. “Women Only”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9, 2004. p. F4. St. Louis, MO.
Cooper, Ivy. “Women Only”, Riverfront Times, April 28-May 4, 2004. p. _.St. Louis, MO.
Bonetti, David. “Gallery Hopping in the CWE”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 15, 2004. St. Louis, MO.
Callahan, Teresa. “The Danforth Scholars Show.” West End Word, January 21,2004. St. Louis, MO
Bonetti, David. “3 Sculptural-installation Artists are Great Rivers Biennial winners.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 30,
2003. St. Louis, MO.
Bonetti, David. “Body/Building.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 9, 2003. St. Louis, MO
Callahan, Theresa. “Body Art: Jill Downen’s Installations are Intelligent...” West End Word, November 12, 2003. St. Louis, MO
Smith, Brian. “3 Artists at Meramec show far-apart styles”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1,2002.
__________. “Danforth Scholars Reach Across Generations”, Washington University Magazine, Fall 2001. St. Louis, MO

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Sarah Szczepanski. “Anxious Architecture”, Purdue Exponent . August 27, 2001. St. Louis, MO
Brouk, Tim. “Anxious Architecture,” Lafayette Journal and Courier, August 19, 2001. St. Louis, MO
Zeller-Michaelson.A. “MFA Thesis exhibit”, West End Word, May 10, 2001. St. Louis, MO
Smith, Brian. “Super-imposed” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 9 2000. St. Louis, MO
__________. Missouri Arts Council, Guide to Programs & Annual Report, 2000-2001.

GRANTS & AWARDS

2009 MacDowell Colony National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, residency, Peterborough, NH
Leon Levy Foundation, grant for MacDowell Colony fellow, New York, NY
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Travel grant for MacDowell Colony residency)
Ragdale Foundation, residency, Lake Forest, IL
Vermont Studio Center, residency & artist’s grant, Johnson, VT
2007 Cité Internationale des Arts, residency, Paris, France
2004 2004 Grand Center Visionary Awards (Emerging Artist), St. Louis. MO
Great Rivers Biennial Grant, Gateway Foundation and Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis. St. Louis, MO
2002-06 Emerson Visiting Critics & Curators Series, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. (Visits with Ingrid Schaffner, Shamim Momin,Thom
Collins, James Elaine, Douglas Fogle, Sylvia Chivaratanond, Hamza Walker)
1999-2001 Danforth Scholar Fellowship, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1988 Thomas Hart Benton Scholarship, Kansas City Art Institute

WRITING BY ARTIST

“Carmon Colangelo,” Catalogue Essay, Bruno David Gallery Publications, Fall 2006
“Transpolyblu”. West End Word, review at Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, February 22, 2001. St. Louis, MO

VISITING ARTIST LECTURES / SYMPOSIUMS

2009 St. Louis Art Museum, The Sculptural Object in Culture, gallery talk, St. Louis, MO
2008 American University, lecture, Washington D.C.
University of Texas at Austin, lecture, Austin, TX
University of Illinois, lecture,Urbana-Champaign, IL
2007 Forest City Gallery, public lecture, London, Ontario, Canada
University of Arizona, lecture, Tucson, AZ
Drake University, Des Moines, IA

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2007 University of Florida, Orlando, FL
Krannert Art Museum, public lecture, Urbana-Champaign, IL
2006 Virginia Commonwealth University, visiting artist, Richmond, VA
Eastern Illinois University, lecture/critiques in conjunction with Uneasy Opposition, Charleston IL
2005 George Washington University, visiting artist, Washington D.C.
2004 Webster University, lecture on The Posture of Place, St. Louis, MO
2004 Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, panel discussion, St. Louis, MO
2001 Memphis College of Art, lecture & critiques, in conjunction with Heuristic Origins, Memphis, TN
Purdue University, lecture & critiques in conjunction with Anxious Architecture, Lafayette, IN
2000 Washington University Gallery of Art, lecture on current work, St. Louis, MO
Critical Mass, North Gallery, The 116 N. 40th series, gallery talk, St. Louis, MO
1999 St. Louis Women’s Caucus for Art, Paintings in Space, lecture, University City Public Library, October. St. Louis, MO
1998 Purdue University, Structures for the Movement of Imagination, lecture & critiques, Lafayette, IN,
1994 Community Gallery, Visions of the Numinous, gallery talk, Kansas City, MO,
1993 Kansas City Art Institute, Surving as a Fine Artist, lecture & panel discussion, Kansas City, MO
1992 St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, lecture on current work, St. Louis, MO

SYMPOSIA/CONFERENCES

2007 Philosophy of Luce Irigaray 2nd Annual Conference, Stony Brook Manhattan, invited to present an artist’s talk/paper in relation to
Luce Irigaray’s philosophy. New York, NY
Portrait, Homage, Embodiment Symposium, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, symposium participant with national scholars.
St. Louis, MO
2006 Minimalism and Beyond Symposium, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, symposium participant with national and European
scholars. St. Louis, MO

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2007-08 Wallace Herndon Smith Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor,

Sculpture & Core, Washington University in St. Louis
2004-07 Visiting Assistant Professor, Sculpture & Core, Washington University in St. Louis
2002-04 Lecturer, Sculpture & Core, Washington University in St. Louis
2003 Adjunct Faculty, Sculpture, Webster University, St. Louis
2001-02 Assistant Professor, Sculpture, St. Louis Community College at Meramec

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ARTISTS

Margaret Adams Beverly Fishman Patricia Olynyk

Ingo Baumgarten Damon Freed Robert Pettus
Dickson Beall William Griffin Daniel Raedeke
Laura Beard Joan Hall Chris Rubin de la Borbolla
Elaine Blatt Takashi Horisaki Cherie Sampson
Nanette Boileau Kim Humphries Frank Schwaiger
Martin Brief Kelley Johnson Charles Schwall
Lisa K. Blatt Howard Jones (Estate) Christina Shmigel
Shawn Burkard Chris Kahler Thomas Sleet
Bunny Burson Bill Kohn (Estate) Buzz Spector
Carmon Colangelo Katharine Kuharic Lindsey Stouffer
Alex Couwenberg Leslie Laskey The Fancy Christ
Jill Downen Sandra Marchewa Cindy Tower
Yvette Drury Dubinsky Peter Marcus Ian Weaver
Eleanor Dubinsky Kathryn Neale Brett Williams
Maya Escobar Moses Nornberg Ken Worley
Corey Escoto

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