Juror's Statement:
I wish to thank Framations for the invitation to jury this show. I also want to thank all the artists that submitted their art for review. Your willingness to share is respected and greatly appreciated.
It is my feeling that in artmaking, dreams, memories, fantasies, and nonrepresentational (abstract) subject matter all possess the potential to disrupt our norms and push against the banality of everyday life. That’s important, in that it keeps us engaged and thinking about our practice and the life we are moving through. I believe artists historically have worked in surreal and abstract ways as a means of trying to understand their existence—disrupting their lives with questions and/or reminders of something beyond themselves, something they can’t quite comprehend. Perhaps, it’s something of dreams.
The artists represented in Those Who Dream by Night demonstrate this ongoing practice and the very human quality of wonderment. I applaud them and encourage their pursuits.
|
About the Juror:
Juror Michael Behle is an artist, educator, and community organizer based in St. Louis, Missouri. His work has been exhibited extensively at venues including: Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, Missouri; Phillips de Pury, New York, New York; Art Resources Transfer, New York, New York; Aqua Art, Miami, Florida; Next Art Fair, Chicago, Illinois; Mitchell Museum (Southern Illinois Biennial) Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Puerto Rico International Art Fair, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Sotheby’s in New York, New York; and The Underground, Stuttgart, Germany, among others. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and his Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. Behle is a fellow of the Vermont Studio Center, and the Community Arts Training Program through the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis.
In 2012 Behle founded Paul Artspace, a residency program located in St. Louis, Missouri, and in 2014 he co-founded Museum Blue, a project space also located in St. Louis. He has served as an independent curator on numerous projects for both local and national exhibitions. His work has received support in grants and fellowships from the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Vermont Studio Center, among others. Behle has served as a guest lecturer and visiting professor at several venues and institutions, most recently at Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy and the Birmingham School of Art in the United Kingdom. He currently serves as Assistant Chairperson in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
|
