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Debra Disman

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PAPER Is In The Air…

February 18, 2025 By Debra Disman

The proverbial scent of paper is in the air!

I am delighted to be showing in two exhibitions focussed on PAPER in the months of February and March.

First up is the exhibition “PAPER” is presented online February 13, 2025 – March 13, 2025 by Site: Brooklyn

SEE THE SHOW HERE!

The 20th century marked the peak, and subsequent decline, of paper’s dominance over everyday life. “Paperwork” is still a near-universal experience, but like everything else, has taken a more-and-more virtual form. Paper, unlike most artistic mediums, is a substrate first and artistic medium second. Created from textile waste, paper is woven very deeply into the fabric of modern life. It can be equally associated with the transformation of work, easy replication, industriousness, disposability, creativity, and experimentation. Since its invention, these qualities have encouraged artists to prepare, design, and experiment on paper. Ironically, it was in the later part of the 20th century when artists like Dorothea Rockburne. Ed Ruscha, and Robert Rauschenberg took the investigations of the Cubists into papier collé and developed paper as both a physical object, and a subject. Site:Brooklyn is looking for works that continue and expand this tradition.

Exhibition Juror, Rachel Gladfelter  is the Director at Pace Paper. Previously, she was the gallery director for the Pace Prints NYC, a fine art print gallery specializing in original, limited-edition prints in collaboration with printmaking affiliates, Pace Editions and Pace Paper. Before that, Gadfelter held the position of Studio Director for Dieu Donne Paper.

I am deighted to show “Excavation of the Interior”, 2021, 12 x 28 x 12.5″, wood, paper, cloth, hemp cord, linen thread

Curatorial Statement: Rachel Gladfelter
Paper is an exhibition that brings together 42 artists working within this versatile medium.  Ranging from intimate collaged ink drawings like Christopher Miller’s Dog Sitting to Svetlana Grigoryeva’s earthy and tactile Breathing of Bark, paper promotes ideas as expansive as its material capability.

Ancient and versatile, paper has historically acted as a carrier, allowing the sharing of ideas, image and word.  With the advent of exploratory papermaking studios and residency spaces in the mid to late 20th century, artists began creating work within the medium itself, bringing new energy and innovation.  Paper’s potential is infinite as both substrate and essential substance.  

As a substrate, it is luring.  To quote Ellsworth Kelly, “When I see a white piece of paper, I feel I’ve got to draw.  And drawing, for me, is the beginning of everything.”  As a medium in and of itself, the ability to create new ideas from the raw materials of fiber and water has a romantic tactility.  Paper can be additive: poured, painted and brushed.  It can be constructed into a new form.  It can be a lightweight shell of an object, or it can be a solidly cast shape.  It can be wrapped around an armature, and it can be cut, torn or shredded.  Paper can be painted on, photographed, crumpled up, eaten, heard, touched, twisted, drawn on, printed on and carried in protest.  It is fragile yet resilient.  It transports history, stories and secrets.  It moves as easily in a systematic mail system as in the unpredictable wind.  Paper is responsive.  It is historical and present, bringing life and purpose to ideas.  Paper is an analogue in a digital age.   The works in Paper share the significance of this medium’s intimacy and clear purpose in its utilization; albeit shown in a digital exhibition. The artists exhibited create works where paper is intrinsic to their ideas around themes of pattern, nature, politics, structure, and memory.  Each wall highlights one of these motifs. – Rachel Gladfelter

Site:Brooklyn Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting the current practice of contemporary artists. We are taking Site:Brooklyn online with a new series of interactive exhibitions. Our goal remains the same, to connect artists with an expert and diverse set of jurors through the open call format. Our new program focuses on online open call exhibitions, selected by a cast of new jurors, solo artist features, and spotlights.

SEE THE “PAPER” SHOW HERE!

In March I will be showing in the exhibition CUT/FOLD/PRESS, presented at Craft Alliance, and juried by the renowned Buzz Spector. More to come on this in another post!

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Artists' Books, BOOKS, Exhibitions, Presentations, TEXTILE/FIBER, Textiles/Fiber/Cloth, Venues, Work Tagged With: ARTIST BOOKS, Brooklyn, Buzz Spector, craft alliance, Cut/Fold/Paste, Dieu Donne Paper, Group Exhibition, New York City, NY, NYC, Online Show, Pace, Pace Editions, Pace paper, Pace Prints, Pace Prints NYC, Paper, Paper in artowrks, paper show, Rachel Gladfelter, Site: Brooklyn, Site: Brooklyn Gallery, Works on and of paper, Works on paper

Bookmaking Love at the West Hollywood Library!

February 11, 2025 By Debra Disman

I was thrilled to lead a Valentine’s bookmaking program February 8th, 2025, at 2PM at the  West Hollywood Library, a beautiful and welcoming place for the whole community!

Participants learned to create their own accordion fold book with pockets and pop-ups they could give a a gift for Valentine’s Day or keep for themselves.
They added  special messages into the pockets, and learned how to create fun one and two-cut pop-ups!
Refreshments and all materials were included.

See VIDEO HERE!

A love-filled time was had by ALL!


 


See VIDEO HERE!

 

 

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Artists' Books, BOOKS, Presentations, Student Work, Teaching Artist, Work Tagged With: Accordion Fold Book, Bookmaking, Bookmaking at the Library, Bookmaking for the Community, Books with Pockets, Boox, Community, COMMUNITY BOOKMAKING, Folded Books, Friends of the West Hollywood Library, Frineds of the Weho library, Frineds of the West Hollywood Lobrary, Handmade Books, Library arts workshops, Love filled bookmaking, making Books, Making Books Together, Making Valentines, POP-UPS, Valentine Love, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Bookmaking, WEHO Library, West hollywood Community, West Hollywood Library

Mazur Museum showcases Contemporary Artists Throughout the US

January 30, 2025 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to participate in “The 62nd Annual Juried Competition” at The Mazur Museum of Art!

The Masur Museum of Art’s Annual Juried Competition showcases contemporary artists throughout the United States of America working in any medium. First started in 1964, the Annual Juried Competition is the Masur Museum’s longest-running tradition and one of its best-reviewed exhibitions each year. This year, 1400  artworks were submitted by artists all over the nation, in all styles and media.

Exhibition on view Feb 20 – May 3, 2025
Public Reception: January 20, 2025 5:30 – 7:30 PM

I am honored to show: “The Body Politic: Black and Gold”


2024, 8.5 x 23 x 7″, bk board, paint, canvas, metal leaf, lace, cord, netting, trim, beads

About the Juror
Annemarie Sawkins, PhD, is a Milwaukee-based independent curator, who has curated several exhibitions for the Masur Museum of Art including Kogyo: Japanese Woodblock Prints (2022), Treasures of Art Nouveau (2019) and Afghan War Rugs: The Modern Art of Central Asia (2018). Her more recent projects include Profound Prints: Art by Exceptional Women at the Hilliard Art Museum and A Creative Place at the Trout Museum of Art. From 1999 to 2012, she was a curator at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University. A frequent juror and portfolio reviewer, Annemarie Sawkins has a MA and PhD in Art/Architectural History from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Sponsored by The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council

62nd Annual Juried Competition – Public Reception
5:30 – 7:30 PM
Juror’s talk and awards: 6:30 PM
Receptions at the Masur Museum of Art are free and open to the public. Light food and refreshments are served and ID for alcoholic beverages is required. Parking at the museum is limited so carpooling is suggested.

 

Filed Under: Exhibitions, New Work, TEXTILE/FIBER, Textiles/Fiber/Cloth, Venues, Work Tagged With: 62nd Annual Juried Exhibition, American Artists, Annemarie Sawkins, annual  group show, ARTIST'S BOOKS, Black and Gold, Book, Book Artist, Contemporary Artists, Fiber, Fiber Artist, Group Exhibition, Handmade Books, Juried Show, Mazur, Mazur Museum, Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Sculptural Books, Textile Artist, Textiles, The Body Politic, US based artists

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

January 29, 2025 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to participate in “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” at the the Cultural Center of Cape Cod

February 3 @ 12:00 pm – March 1 @ 5:00 pm
Please join us for the opening reception  5-7PM February 7, 2025 at the
Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Inc. 307 Old Main Street South Yarmouth, MA 02664

“Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover“, is an evocative visual art exhibition designed to challenge our perceptions and invite us to look beyond the superficial. This engaging showcase, presented at the Cultural Center, features a variety of artists who use unexpected materials, surprising forms, and innovative techniques to question the initial impressions and judgments we often make.

Each piece in the collection serves as a metaphor for the complexity of identity and the hidden depths beneath external appearances. By juxtaposing the seen with the unseen, this exhibition encourages viewers to reconsider how they interpret not only art but each other in everyday life

Join us from February 3 – March 1, 2025, for a transformative journey that redefines what it means to truly ‘see.’

I am thrilled to show:
Red Notebook (Here’s To The Red, White and Blue), 8.5 x 12.5 x 6.5″, placemat, linen thread, hemp cord, cloth, wood

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Artists' Books, TEXTILE/FIBER, Textiles/Fiber/Cloth, Venues, Work Tagged With: Book, Cape Cod, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Everyday Life, external appearances, Group Exhibition, Group Show, hidden depths, IDENTITY, innovative techniques, Juried Exhibition, Molly Demeulenaere, surprising forms, unexpected materials, Unseen, Yarmouth

EXPO 44 at B.J. Spoke Gallery

January 25, 2025 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to participate in EXPO 44  presented online by B.J. Spoke Gallery.

Juror: Emily Olek is a Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Before joining MoMA, Emily was the Janet and Craig Duchossois Curatorial Research Assistant in Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she worked on projects including Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw, Hairy Who? 1966-1969, and Lygia Pape: Tecelares. She also worked on exhibitions at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library. Emily recently completed her M.A. at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a concentration in American works on paper and holds a B.A. in Art History from Loyola University Chicago. Her Master’s Thesis entitled “So-Called “Outsiders”: A Case Against the Moniker” won UIC Graduate College’s 2022 Outstanding Thesis Award.

I have two large scale installations in the show. View my WORK  here!

View my WORK in the show here!

Reception will be Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 7:00pm (EST) via ZOOM. The reception will be recorded.
Everybody will be there:
Selected Artists! Juror! Gallery Members! Guests!
Register below and Zoom will send you a link to enter the reception.
JOIN US!
Register HERE for Expo Reception

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Exhibitions, TEXTILE/FIBER, Textiles/Fiber/Cloth, Work Tagged With: 15 person show, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Emily Olek, EXPO 44, Group Exhbition, Group Show, Installation, Installations, International Juried Exhibition, Large Scale works, MOMA, Online Show, ZOOM RECEPTION

Swinging the Pendulum

January 24, 2025 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to be part of:

The 14th Annual International Juried Exhibition – PENDULUM

February 12 – March 8, 2025

READ THE PRESS RELEASE!

The A.D. Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke  presents an exhibition that shares varied  interpretations of the theme, Pendulum.
Gains/losses, highs/lows, submerge/emerge…our human experience swings on a pendulum. While we all aim for homeostasis, the moments the pendulum swings are often when we feel the most alive, when we are called to act or react. In the past 20 years, we have faced major political, social, environmental, and personal shifts. These shifts have presented us with obstacles, challenges as well as moments for reinvention and emergence. This show presents works that visualize a swing in the pendulum, a life altering moment, a shift in the trajectory. Juror: Emily Beck considered works from a broad range of interpretations of this theme.

I am pleased to show: It’s Not Black and White, 2021, 9 x 22 x 7.5″, book board, canvas, paper, typewriter ribbon, hemp cord

Emily Scott Beck is an interdisciplinary artist and professor in the Department of Art, Art History and Design at the University of Notre Dame. Her work manipulates and re-contextualizes aspects of our identity that are often hidden within the layers of human communication and interaction. Using video, animation, photography, sculpture, fibers, installation, and sound, she captures experiences of emotional vulnerability, unrehearsed performances, gender construction, systems of belief, and women’s labor and leadership. A focus on art as a powerful tool for visual communication and social change is a common thread between her studio practice and her teaching. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States, including the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC, the South Bend Museum of Art in South Bend, IN, Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin Texas, and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL

The A.D. Gallery is sponsored by the Art Department of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Serving the university and local community, the gallery provides a venue for student and faculty work, as well as that of local, regional, national and international artists. The gallery helps fulfill the department’s goal of providing outstanding educational opportunities for its students by bringing quality visual arts to the university and the community at large.

In the 1970s the faculty recognized a need for a permanent exhibition space and converted a faculty lounge into a gallery, which served the department for 30 years. In September 2005, the department announced the opening of its new exhibition space. The new A.D. Gallery features approximately 960 square feet of exhibition space, an upper register with a skylight, and the ability to display large-format work.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE!

 

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Exhibitions, Presentations, TEXTILE/FIBER, Work Tagged With: A.D. Gallery, Art Department of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Change, Current Events, Emily Beck, Exhbitions, gains and losses, Group Show, highs and lows, International Juried Show, It's Not Black and White, Juried Show, losses, lows, Pembroke, Pendulum, Pendulum Swings

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