STATEMENT
Over the past few years I have been exploring a series of work I call White Silence Mudra. My goal has been to use encaustic in a visual language to push my paintings from pure landscape to an abstract conveyance of my relationship to the land. During the process of creating each piece there develops a subtle tension between the chance landscape made by burning melted wax and the application of painted patterns that allows the final space to emerge. In the language of my marks is a meditative exploration of the beauty of the natural world and my underlying response to that beauty. I cannot remember a time when I have not been concerned with environmental issues of the space we inhabit, the space our own lives depend on, our interaction with the world and our capacity for creativity or destruction.
From across a room these works might appear to be watercolor washes,
but upon close inspection they reveal themselves to be matter and texture,
a physical and mental exploration, a detailed attention to the ordinary
world around us. This artistic experiment hopes to capture the sublime
isolation of being at one with the silent earth. This work plays with
a give and take of organic material and evolves into a personal space
that I hope is a universal space as well; one that represents our essential
connection between nature and humanity.
BIO
Selene Plum earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. She is the recipient of numerous grants and scholarships including the Smith Scholarship for 4 years at SAIC, the Zanzy Scholarship for study at Oxbow, Michigan, and the Estes Park Grant for study at the Colorado School of Art. She has studied with E.W. Ross and Olivia Petrides of SAIC in southwestern France.
Selene was a cooperative director of Las Manos Gallery, a decade old gallery which shows established as well as emerging artists. Las Manos also serves as a community performance space; hosting discussions, dramatic monologues and panel discussions on topics such as reform and shows ranging from ruminations on birds to art from death row. Selene curated the show titled "Works on Paper" at the gallery in 2008
She has been working as a set designer and prop stylist for photography and national TV commercials for 15 years.
She currently works in 2 studios: Her 125 year old farm house in Green County, Wisconsin, where she now spends the majority of her time, and a small space across the street from Lake Michigan in Chicago.
REPRESENTED BY
a muse gallery, columbus, ohio Link to Site
editions limited gallery, indianapolis, indiana Link to Site
RECENT ARTICLES
Featured in Women's International News Link to Article
RECENT & UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
Upcoming Group Show - Grand Canyon Celebration of Art Link to Site
Upcoming Solo Show - The Phipps Center for the Arts
Group Show - Hudson Hospital's Healing Arts Program, Hudson WI, July - October, 2009
Artist of the Month at Manhattan Arts Gallery, New York, March 2008
Solo Show- Las Manos Gallery, Chicago, September, 2007
Solo Show – Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, 2007
Above the Noyes, Evanston, Il., curator: Sarah Krepp 2007
Andersonville Art Open, Chicago 2007