2010 was a busy and emotional year. Slowly but surely, I recovered from the emergency surgery that I had in the summer of 2009. As I did so, I learned about how the disease which sent me to the hospital will impact the rest of my life.
Other than that, Subjective was a big part of 2010. This conceptual series was a blind collaboration created with Becca Bernstein, and it toured throughout the Pacific Northwest, debuting at the North View Gallery in Portland and traveling to the Corvallis Arts Center, the Pence Gallery in Bend, and the Art Festival Museum in Edmonds, Washington.
In January, my work was featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Oregon Art Beat. The segment was filmed in September 2008 and it features Apple Pie as well as part of the interview behind these two portraits.
“This [blog] post melds words and images, creating a thought-provoking embodiment of the BlogHer 10 session ‘Transforming Online Places into Art Spaces.’ Each image and each thought is more interesting than the last. It’s a consistent theme in [Seemel’s] work.”
photo by Cathy Cheney
“[While] the recession has left plenty of bruises, Seemel said it could result in more thought-provoking work.”
“Artist Gwenn Seemel’s post ‘How I make sure my art doesn’t get ripped off on the Internet’ is a wonderfully calm, sensible, and practical approach to living as a 21st century artist in an age where reproduction is a given.”
Kirk Reeves talking with Fox 12
In November, the Portland street performer Kirk Reeves appeared on Fox 12 along with me and my portrait of him. To watch the segment, go here!
photo by Mark Busch
In the fall, I did weekly Skyping sessions with art students at Riverside Brookfield High School in Illinois. Their teacher had given them the assignment of imitating my style, looking to my techniques as a guide for using shape and color in a less literal way while still producing a painting that’s an accurate likeness. I was honored by the opportunity to work with the students, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what they created!
An Illinois news site featured a mini photo essay about our Skyping and this is one of the excellent photos by Mark Busch.
Subjective the book
Dr. Richard Brilliant authored the introductory essay for Subjective’s exhibition catalog, published in 2010. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Anna S Garbedian Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, Brilliant has received many honors, including the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Fulbright grant.
The book is available for $20. Email me if you would like to purchase a copy.
