Daniel Hauben - 2001 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
During this past ten months, my imagination has begun to take flight in my paintings. The painting I have been most consumed with began last March as a landscape and then, as the pandemic unfolded, it quickly and unexpectedly morphed into a surrealistic world: mushrooms transformed into jellyfish as they flew through an atmosphere vibrating with evanescent particles and undulating forms. The painting, entitled Mnemosyne's Flight, sprang forth directly from my subconscious. Mnemosyne (the Mother of Muses), launches herself purposefully into a topsy-turvy world, her spirit empowering it with art, creativity, and hope.
 
In this new work, I am exploring the ineffable world that lies just beyond perception, where my objective and subjective realities converge, offering a glimpse of a more expansive ‘picture’ of reality.

Heather Heckel - 2016 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
During the pandemic I completed a remote artist residency at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Carrying out a residency while social distancing caused me to reflect on the discomfort of isolation, the heightened anxiety about unseen threats, and the uncertain future. Yet creating artwork during the pandemic helped me because creative research, drawing, and painting provides me with a sense of purpose. My craft is familiar, it is a constant, and my mind can rest when I am in the flow of creating. Isolation from others did not isolate me from my artwork, in fact it encouraged a renewed connection. The pandemic affected my process because I had to create artwork from photo reference, and I was drawn to scenes of emptiness. The pandemic will affect my art in the future by propelling me with renewed vigor to travel as much as possible while creating-site specific pieces.

Ann Huey - 2001 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
If I was to make something good out of these lemons, I'd say that the pandemic has helped me produce a lot of lemonade. After being laid off in April, I’ve spent a lot of time painting, trying new things, taking technique courses, and building up a body of work. I've been painting what pleases me, like birds and flowers, still-lifes, mid-century subjects and styles, instead of what I usually think is "important". There are plenty of talented people making pandemic-themed art. I've had time to unearth long-buried ideas for graphic illustration that I've been dusting off and submitting to publishers. After I fill up all these zillions of canvases and paper that sit staring at me, I hope to have good inventory and a better idea of what to concentrate on. That will never happen, of course, because I get too bored doing the same thing over and over!

Myda Iamicelli - 2016 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
During the pandemic, I've had no motivation create artwork. Everyday is filled with bad news; COVID, politics, BLM, job losses, etc. This is a juvenile red-shouldered hawk that was attacked in my backyard by an adult hawk, while I was working remotely. I wouldn’t have experienced the attack had it not been for the pandemic. I rescued him but he died before we got to the vet. This attack on the hawk saddened me, but also inspired me. The bird was so beautiful – I wanted to capture him and the sadness of his death, but also the sadness of what we're all experiencing now. The title speaks to the lost innocence of the bird; but also, the world's loss of innocence after so many troubling events and tragedies. I fear we will never go back to "normal," as the pandemic and 2020 will resonate with us for a long time.

Darlene Kaczmarczyk - 2008 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
Being an artist is the best pandemic profession. There is always some work to be done, and varied ways to express your fears, anxiety, and even some joy (or comic relief in my case).
Growing up in the 1950s, fears of nuclear war and the growing space race dominated the media and were often expressed in the science fiction of the time and thus influenced my aesthetic in this work.
One of my worst fears is that we will forget this experience once we reach herd immunity with the vaccine and the next pandemic will crush us. I hope not. I want to be able to enjoy great art in museums and galleries with others.

Tatana Kellner - 2015 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
As an immigrant I see the world around me from an outsider’s perspective, an observer peering in, fitting neither this world nor the one I was born into. My work reflects on the ever-changing nature of information that we are presented with and the unrelenting pace of contemporary life. As one event supersedes another, they blend together forming a fragmented narrative. I try to slow down this deluge by carefully focusing on a specific issue. Since last March I’ve been dealing with isolation and rising frustration by the failure of leadership. I’ve been heartened by the increased public engagement, and the resulting promise of an engaged citizenry expressing not only frustration, but also an aspiration to create a more inclusive and just society. This has resulted in the new series of paintings collectively titled Apart. To date this series consists of 50 paintings. 

Elizabeth Knowles - 2019 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
I created POD for an outdoor exhibit for Summer 2020 which eventually got postponed to 2021. During March, April, and May, as my normal activities were curtailed, my immediate world became very small. This allowed me the time and energy to completely focus on exhibit proposal and experiment in a variety of ways with materials and process. As the country shut down, I found myself emotionally turning inward and my original proposal for the exhibit shifted and a womb like shape began to emerge. I collected rocks which I then painted with lively colors and organic shapes and they became the precious eggs cradled within this pod.

Elizabeth Lazeren - 2014 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
My painting journey continues as it did in the “before-time” but the pathway seems more important. I realize how fortunate I am to have a creative outlet that provides a diversion from forced seclusion and apprehension. I am blessed living on the Outer Cape. It’s where I capture painting images. The sand and the ocean know nothing of the global dread, so my subject matter remains steady.
Although the pandemic slowed my life, it’s given me more time to study, draw and practice. I enjoy concentrating on my subject matter. The world is somber and this has affected my palette. The long winter nights are dispiriting but working in my studio is an escape from reality, including the anxiety I feel during this time. I don’t know how the pandemic will affect my future work. What I do know is I will still be practicing to be a better painter.

Benisse Lester - 2015 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
My pandemic works are healing paintings in current troubled times, reductive in composition, but with warm intense color and energy.  They are introspective, often small and intimate in scale.  My paintings speak with a calm voice.  They reach back to more contemplative times.  There is comfort in continuity with the past and the future.  There is a timeless quality to my paintings that transcends the pandemic.  My works capture transient organic beings, forms, and entities, life forces which have existed for millennia despite pandemics and other challenges throughout history.  My paintings are conversations that bring people together with the world around them, and with their own spirit.  This is especially important now as we try to stay connected on a human level.  Going forward, my next series counters the somber impact of the ongoing pandemic with renewed whimsy, animation, and exuberance.  

Beth Livensperger - 2008 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
The pandemic was just another news item until my college ordered everyone to gather what we needed and to prep our courses to be taught online. As March turned to April, I was exhausted by working online and by anxiety. It wasn't clear what utility my art-making was serving in a larger sense. I was making images of women in offices, meditating on a particular social dynamic that it seemed might be largely upended as companies arrived at the other end of this crisis with a zeal for remote work. I wondered what we'd be giving up. I felt unable to keep making my previous work, but I kept thinking about these unoccupied spaces. I made Remote, a set of two empty conference tables, clean and waiting for the next meeting. At a distance, we see through the mottled glass double door to a receptionist's desk, also empty.

Layla Luna - 2014 Artist-In-Residence

Statement:
The Jane Series was created in 2020, a year that taught me the need for flexibility in my practice. Pre-pandemic, my mode of working revolved around making series that would be shown in a traditional gallery setting. As galleries closed in reaction to COVID, my studio process changed. The focus shifted from making a body of work with the final gallery installation in mind to focusing solely on the making of an individual painting. I began to slow down and work in a more organic and personal way which is an influence that I see continuing in the future.