Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Shadur.
Beth, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been a professional artist in the US since the mid-1970s when I returned from an international journey through a grant from Brown University where I documented murals in Mexico and Europe and created murals in Great Britain. Since 1975, I have created over 150 murals as both public and community-based projects, as well as for private residences. My studio practice since then has investigated a wide range of themes from endangered plant and animal species, to more personal autobiographical narratives, to more recently, looking at human threats to the environment, particularly those of sacred and pristine spaces. My work has been influenced by my studies at Brown, my interest in social issues, my love of nature, language and poetry and by my use of watercolor as a medium.
I knew I wanted to be an artist from the time I was a young child and created drawings in my walls in my bedroom and basement. I drew and painted continuously, and learned Japanese brush painting as a 4-year-old from watching public television. I have really never stopped since!
My professional practice has included teaching at the college level and for all ages since 1977, doing participatory murals since 1976, giving public lectures, and now has led me to curatorial practice.
Not only do I work as a Gallery Director at a Chicago area college (Prairie State College) but I have created many exhibitions as an independent curator. Most notable is ongoing The Poetic Dialogue Project, which has resulted in four exhibitions in which I have paired contemporary visual artists with contemporary poets to do collaborative works of art. This came from my own collaborative work since 2004 with AZ poet Lois Roma-Deeley, in which we have created numerous works in response to the work of the other, as well as totally collaboratively. My own wonderful experience with this prompted me to organize these exhibitions for other artists to enjoy this paradigm-pushing creative experience.
Finally, I have exhibited my work both nationally and internationally at galleries and museums, and have been privileged to have a large number of solo shows. One of my largest accomplishments was to be exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in Art and Cartography, showing with Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. Another great source of pride is my work being published in 20th Century Watercolor from Abbeville Press. I am really the only “unknown” artist in that beautiful coffee table book.
Has it been a smooth road?
My own struggles have been two. One is that I had always hoped to be a full-time professor at the university level. That has never happened to me. At the time that I began that quest, 1975, it was difficult as a woman to find work like that. Instead, I ended up being an adjunct, with the struggles that come from that. On the other hand, this allowed for great flexibility for me to do my own studio work, exhibitions, and to take on mural commissions as well.
My second struggle has been in finding a commercial gallery. Like many artists, I had always dreamed I would be represented in a New York gallery and that hasn’t happened. I have had some gallery representation, but am not currently represented anywhere.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
While I am very proud of my own works in my studio practice, I also do murals for various clients. These works are based on client needs and spaces, where I take into account who will use the mural and the physical space involved. I have done murals for libraries, hospitals, shopping malls, medical offices, and in many private homes, I work very closely with the client to create a mural that will enhance their space, and takes into account how the space is used. Architectural elements become part of the mural by integrating them into the design.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
While I hear that galleries will become less important, and an online presence more important, for me there is nothing better than experiencing a work of art in person.
Contact Info:
- Address: 230 Ridge Road,
Highland Park, IL 60035 - Website: www.bethshadur.com
- Phone: 847.530.2558
- Email: bredflame@ameritech.net
- Instagram: bethshadur
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beth.shadur
- Twitter: @redflame517
Image Credit:
Tom Van Endye
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