I am currently working in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree. It is an enchanting and austerely beautiful landscape; at once soft and harsh, simple and complex, subtle and dramatic. Inevitably, my work is born from this environment. I do not attempt to track how it influences me.
I grew up 40 miles north of New York City. As a child, I was fascinated by AA Milne’s drawings in the Pooh books, and by Beatrix Potter’s watercolor illustrations. I was encouraged in my artistic efforts when I was quite young by my immediate family and my artist uncle, Fred Maine, who worked as an illustrator in an office in the Empire State Building.
My first junior high school trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened my eyes to what painting could be. Throughout high school I worked with artist and teacher Herold Witherspoon, to whom I am forever grateful. He told me I was an artist, and guided me into experimentation and exploration. I spent every study hall in his art classroom. The museums of New York were an easy train ride away, and I went often, spending hours educating myself in identifying individual artists and studying their paintings. This frequent exposure to original works, particularly of the New York School, and by the cubists and fauvists, made a huge impact on my aesthetic development.
After high school, I traveled extensively. I cannot overstate how profoundly these journeys shaped my thinking as a person and an artist, giving me the perspective of cultural and geographical diversity. I married twice and raised an amazing creative daughter, Georgiana, and these experiences also enriched my life personally and artistically. I lived in Colorado for 30 years. While in Colorado, I painted large watercolors of the desert landscapes of New Mexico and Arizona. My work was represented by local galleries, and galleries in Durango and Santa Fe. I received my BFA in painting (Phi Beta Kappa) at CU Boulder, where I studied with color-field artist Gene Matthews, and was influenced by George Woodman’s seminars on art theory.
Following a decade of designing and building passive solar homes in Colorado, I became enchanted by the Mojave Desert and in 2006 I moved to Joshua Tree. I renovated an old homestead cabin and added a passive solar studio, and I now paint full-time. Until the beginning of 2008, I was primarily interested in the desert landscape, compelled by the austere beauty around me. Since then I have been exploring large non-objective work as well. In the Joshua Tree area I have had four solo shows and been part of several group shows, and I open my studio to visitors every year in October as part of the Cultural Arts Council Art Tours.
My first solo show in New York opened on May 16, 2009, curated by Bernard Leibov of BoxoFFICE.
resumé
Representation:
BoxoFFICE, 421 Hudson St.,NYC, NY, 917-669-6098, http://www.boxofficeprojects.com/Home.html
Susan Street Fine Art Gallery, 415 S. Cedros Ave.,Solana Beach, California, 858-793-4442, www.susanstreetfineart.com.
Selected Exhibitions:
May 16-June 28, 2009: Solo Show "Urban Promise," at BoxoFFICE Projects, 421 Hudson Street, NYC
October 2008: Joshua Tree area Open Studio Tour
May 2008: Solo Show, 29 Palms Creative Center, 29 Palms, California
March 2008: Solo Show, High Desert Nature Museum, Yucca Valley, California
December 2007: Solo Show, "Mojave Paintings," True World Gallery, Joshua Tree, California
October 2007: Joshua Tree area Open Studio Tour
September 2007: Group Show at True World Gallery, Joshua Tree
September 2007: Southland Invitational Exhibit, curated by Audrey Gillick, 29 Palms Gallery, 29 Palms, California
March 2007: Solo Show curated by Klaus Wille, Black Canyon Coffee, Yucca Valley, California
November 2006: Joshua Tree area Open Studio Tour
1996-2005: Designed and built passive solar mountain homes
1993-1996: BFA, Painting, University of Colorado at Boulder
1980-1992: Represented by: Presden Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Gallery East, Loveland, Colorado
Gallery Ultima, Durango, Colorado
Upper Edge Gallery, Snowmass, Colorado
During this time I was in numerous solo, invitational, and group shows along the Front Range of Colorado, including Georgetown, Ft. Collins, Greeley and Denver, painting under my married name of Kristina Mickelic.
See our other WIKI : Geoff Bunn Art & Artist
