Biography and Exhibition History
Look out below! (For my bio and exhibition history…)
In recent news, one of my short stories, “Tandem,” appears in the Milkweed Editions’ book Fiction on a Stick.
Beyond writing and artwork, I enjoy travel, stage performance and music. This site is primarily about my visual artwork, but I’ve included a few surprises…
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Biography
I have worked as a visual artist since graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. While I am both a writer and a visual artist, it was my career in the visual arts which began first. In fact, I was only four years old when I found an open can of deck paint and painted myself completely red. This particular act was not well received by my parents at the time, but after the shock (and the paint) wore off, they eventually encouraged me in all my artistic endeavors.
I continued to paint and write, and I eventually chose to major in art at the University of Minnesota. While seeking my degree, I began working as a freelance writer doing art and film reviews for The Minnesota Daily, the University’s newspaper. As an undergraduate, my honors included graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, winning a CLA Honors Thesis Exhibition Grant to complete my honors thesis.
Since college, I’ve shown my work at local exhibition spaces such as Art-a-Whirl and Gallery 360 in Minneapolis and the office of the late Senator Paul Wellstone in St. Paul. I have also continued my work as a writer. I have contributed work to City Pages and have written several stories for various newspapers and magazines, including ASID ICON , the magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers, and Lifetime Fitness magazine. One of my short stories, “Tandem,” appears in the Milkweed Editions’ book Fiction on a Stick. In 2009 I was hired by 3M to do a series of Post-It® Note collages which in turn inspired my series of “pixel” collages and paintings.
Several years ago I began working on novel entitled The Unbearable Genius. This novel is about an artist, his dead parents, a seemingly evil neighbor named Pigeonhole, a doomed love affair, as well as lots and lots of cockroaches. This work consumes the bulk of my writing time and energy.
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Resume
Education:
* B.F.A. Studio Arts, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1995
Art-Related Activities/Honors:
* Summa cum laude, Studio Arts, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota
* Dean’s List, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota
* CLA Honors Thesis Exhibition Grant, 1994
* Nolte-Miller Scholarship, University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education, 2005
* Short story published in Jerome Foundation-funded Milkweed Editions anthology Fiction on a Stick, 2008
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Exhibition History
Group
* Senior Thesis Exhibition, Katherine Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1994
* The Art Collective, Minneapolis, 2001
* Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, 2006
* Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition, 2006 (Honorable Mention)
* Rake Magazine/Jazz88 Gallery Grooves featured Artist, 2007
* Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, 2007 (Jury Finalist)
* Gallery 360, Minneapolis, 2007
* Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition, 2008
* Art Per Chance, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2005-2009
* Open Eye Figure Theatre, Minneapolis, 2009
* Gallery 360, Minneapolis, 2009
* Grain Belt Art Collective, Minneapolis, 2009
Solo
* Ford Centre Gallery, Minneapolis, 1995
* The Office of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, St. Paul, 1997
* Art-a-Whirl, Minneapolis, 2001, 2004, 2006
* Buffalo Fish Fine Art, Willmar, MN 2005
* Gallery360, Minneapolis, 2008
* Mill District Arts Gallery, Minneapolis, 2009
