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Artist Statement:
Since December 2003 Colleen AF
Venable has been deep into her
first full conceptual project,
THE STALKING AND MURDERING OF
A CHILDHOOD GIRAFFE, where she
is attempting to take
nostalgic obsession well past
a level of creepiness,
complete with an "explosive"
ending. After one year over
400 photographs have been
created for this project which
is expected to take an
estimated five years for
completion. The final result
will be over 2,000 works of
art. A sampling of images from
this project can be seen in
the final art pages of this
portfolio.
Colleen was born 1980, in
Walden, NY and currently
resides in New York City. More
about process than product,
she thrives on experimentation
is opposed to using negatives
more than once. Her work plays
with subtle fine art taboos:
the smiling face, the
intentional creation of
kitsch, the use of nostalgic
media such as markers,
crayons, and tempera paint,
all encapsulated in raw,
spotted, imperfectly created
images. Also a produced
playwright, her obsession with
words shows through often in
her artwork.
...
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Upcoming:
TBA "International Miniart
Exchange," Singapore
Previous Shows:
2006 "International Miniart
Exchange" Queen B's in Queen
Charlotte, BC, CANADA
2004 "International Miniart
Exchange" Gomboc Gallery,
AUSTRALIA
2003 "Positive Focus-Body of
Work" at 13, Brooklyn NY
2003 "International Miniart
Exchange" Porto Alegre BRAZIL
2003 "Positive Focus,"
Southpaw, Brooklyn NY
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Further Information
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Collections:
Shary Collection, NJ
KMV Collection, Tempe, AZ
Hybrid Magazine, New York, NY
Wagner College, Staten Island,
NY
Valley Central Photography
Collection, Montgomery, NY...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Remote Theatre Company, New
York, NY
Valley Central High School
Mural Project, Montgomery, NY
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Further Information
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Reviews for Colleen Af Venable:
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-Named an "EDITOR'S PICK" by BUST MAGAZINE June 2005
-"POSITIVE FOCUS" MAGAZINE DEC-JAN 2003 ISSUE-
A recent addition to "Artlives," an elite group of 50 international artists, Colleen AF Venable is on the brink of losing the tag "emerging" from her photoartist status. Featured in her first solo gallery show earlier this year, her work will be exhibited in London Next Spring.
Originally from upstate New York, the 22-year-old artist spent several years as an assistant in the photography department at Wagner College while persuing her degree. Her award-winning work caught the attention of Absolutearts.com, and from that, her artistic career has blossomed in 2002.
"I think of each photograph as a separate work of art, like singular paintings," says Colleen. More about process than product, she experiments with techniques and admits to having a "total obsession with the darkroom." She is inherently averse to using negatives more than once and executes each piece as an original incapable of replication.
When asked to select a favorite piece from her repertoire, Colleen experienced no hesistation in naming "12th Floor". "I think it marked the moment I really decided to have fun with photography as opposed to just trying to make pictures with perfect contrast and composition." In its creation, she put a half-done print in the garbage and let test strips accumulate on top. Hours later, with the light on, she discovered that some strips has acted as paper negatives while others had left black blotches.
Her current project involves a series of twelve prints, all of which will contain pieces of her poetry. Torn between photography and writing (she has already had one of her plays produced) Colleen enjoys the challenge of finding opportunities to combine the two artistic media.
--article by Katie McCarthy of POSITIVE FOCUS, www.positivefocus.org
-STATEN ISLAND, NY, March 12, 2002–
In a world so obsessed with technical perfection, budding photographer Colleen AF Venable, rejects the digital age and attempts to redefine artistic taboos. Her first solo show, a black and white exhibition mockingly entitled "Imperfect Pictures," is a virtual circus for the eye. Venable plays with the artistic taboo of the smiling face, particularly in the piece facetiously entitled "Yes, It’s Vacant." Many of the photographs are on wood, mixing in woodcutting techniques, painting, and at times whimsical, at times disturbing poetry. The prints are crude, covered with spots, dust, holes, tears, and paint slapped over the images. The result is a redefining of what "perfection" is within the realm of photography.
-Other Press:
Gallery Spotlight Artist for "200 Proof" Magazine, March 2005
Featured Artist "Moondance" Magazine, Sept-Dec. 2005 Issue
Featured Artist December 2003 Issue of "Poetic Inhaltion"
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