Colleen Blackard (b. 1987)Colleen Blackard is a Brooklyn artist who recently returned home to Austin, TX. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art at The University of Texas in Austin, and received her BA from Hampshire College, MA. She is a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and has completed residencies at Atelierhaus Hilmsen, Germany, Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat, Co. Kerry, Ireland, Jentel in Wyoming, and PLAYA in Oregon. Her work has been shown in such venues as ACA Galleries and Owen James Gallery in NYC and Redbud Gallery in Houston. Her drawings are in Pierogi Gallery's Flat Files and she was interviewed for their artists’ Q&A. Her work has also been featured in Drawing Magazine and Artspace. Artist StatementI am fascinated by the evolving atmosphere that light creates around transient subjects such as storms, nightscapes, and other emotionally-charged spaces. My work explores the phenomenon of being immersed in these realms. Recalling dreams and memories of the natural world, I utilize methods of printmaking, drawing, painting, and scenic art to connect external and internal landscapes. My finished work becomes a traceable imprint of this exploration. During my recent month-long residency at Atelierhaus Hilmsen, I used my time to create work inspired by my adventures in Scandinavian woodlands, fjords, and islands. The resulting monotypes are also influenced by the folklore and myths of the region I have been reading during my travels, from Norse mythology to the Norwegian folktales and legends collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. In 2021, I traveled to the foothills of the Bighorn range in Wyoming and the Great Basin in Oregon to work directly from the landscape. The resulting prints capture my response to my experiences within these spaces, such as watching the shadow of the new moon rise over a distant ridge while coyotes howl. During the first winter of the pandemic, I reflected on my recent time in a historic cottage at Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat in Co. Kerry, Ireland. I created a series of monotypes envisioning a moonlit return to the nearby 8th century monastic ruins of Kildreelig. Researching pigments in circulation in early medieval Europe, I used a reduced palette of colors available to the monastery’s residing hermit monks. This series is a contemplation on those who have come before and the space found in their wake. EDUCATION2024 MFA Candidate, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX2020 Painting Marathon Course, New York Studio School, New York, NY2009 BA Studio Arts, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA AWARDS, GRANTS2021 Top 5 Shows in Texas, Glasstire | Texas Visual Art News and Reviews2017 Artist Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation2011 Top 150 NYC entries, Curate NYC, Rush Arts Gallery, Chelsea, NY SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS2021 The Abandoned Series: Returning, Redbud Gallery, Houston, TX2016 The Abandoned Series, ACA Galleries Benefit Event, New York, NY2012 Shifting Perceptions Orchard Windows Gallery, New York, NY2012 Fading Memories; Emerging Spirit, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn2010 Colleen Blackard, Better Farm, Redwood, NY2009 For The Universe, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS2023. Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TXSPRING/BREAK Art Show, NYCWomen & Their Work, Red Dot Art Spree, Austin, TXMönchskirche Gallery, Salzwedel, Germany2022. Calico, Brooklyn, NYCenter for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CTDavis Gallery, Austin, TXThe Royal Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY2021. Jason McCoy Gallery, New York, NYCalico, Brooklyn, NYKean University, Union, NJGlade Gallery, The Woodlands, TX2020. Calico, Brooklyn, NYAHA Gallery, Queens, NY2019. Myeongdong International Art Festival, Seoul, KRMrs. Gallery, Hampshire College Benefit, NYCPostcards from the Edge, Bortolami, NYC2018. Calico, Brooklyn, NYAHA Gallery, New York, NY2017. Abrons Art Center, New York, NYACA Galleries Event, Chelsea, NY2016. Columbia University, NYCBFP Creative, Brooklyn, NYOwen James Gallery, Brooklyn, NY2015. Pleiades Gallery, New York, NYGalerie Protégé, New York, NYISSO Gallery, Tokyo, JapanLuhring Augustine Gallery, NYC2014. Van Der Plas Gallery, New York, NYBFP Creative, Brooklyn, NYISSO Gallery, Tokyo, Japan2013. Six Summit Gallery, Ivoryton, CTGallery Brooklyn, NYHouse Gallery, London, UKFountain Art Fair, New York, NYRH Gallery, New York, NY2012. Marina Tsvetaeva Museum, Moscow, Russia4Heads Governor's Island Art Fair, NYCIt's a Small World, Family Business, NYC2011. Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NYThe Grady Alexis Gallery, New York, NY2010. Orchard Windows Gallery, New York, NY2009. Northampton Center for the Arts, MAHampshire College Main Gallery, MA2008. Eli Marsh Gallery, Amherst, MA2007 Eli Marsh Gallery, Amherst, MA RESIDENCIES2023 Atelierhaus Hilmsen, Wallstawe, Germany2020 PLAYA, Summer Lake, OR2020 Jentel, Banner, WY2019 Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry, Ireland2013 Women Printmakers of Austin Keyholder Residency, Austin, TX2010 BetterArt, Better Farm, Redwood, NY LECTURES AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS2023 Fresh from the Studio, Hosted by Women & Their Work, Austin, TX2021 Jentel Presents, Hosted by Sage Gallery, Sheridan, WY2020 The Artist’s Well, Hosted by Alan Keane, Dublin, Ireland2017 Jersey City Art and Studio Tour, 660 Studios, Jersey City, NJ COLLECTIONSBrooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NYMarina Tsvetaeva Museum, Moscow, RussiaMead Art Museum, Amherst College, MA REPRESENTATION2020 Flat Files, SFA Projects, New York, NY2015 Gallery representation, Aberson Exhibits, Tulsa, OK2013 Flat Files, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY2021 Artspace Editors, Colleen Blackard, Artspace.Glasstire, Top Five: April 1, 2021, Glasstire.Alan V. Keane, The Source, Ireland, Alan Keane Art. Print.Ashleigh S. Wilkerson, Art on Call with Colleen Blackard, MOST Influential Art Magazine: 30. Print.2018 Claire Selvin, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Names 2017–18 Grantees, ARTnews.2017 Austin R. Williams, New & Notable: Colleen Blackard, Drawing Magazine: 80. Print.Austin R. Williams, Why Colleen Blackard is an Artist to Watch, Artists Network.Julia Moak, Thursday Spotlight: Colleen Blackard Travels At Lightspeed Into Infinity with Ballpoint Pen,Greenpointers.com.2016 Stephanie Theodore, See My Friends: Owen James Gallery, Two Coats of Paint.2015 Audrey Irving, Colleen Blackard Q&A, Pierogi Gallery.Art Exhibit That Celebrates Female Artists for Women's History Month Opens in LIC, NY1 News, NewYork, NY.Jamie Martinez, Paper Trails at Van Der Plas Gallery, ArteFuse.2014 Brooklyn, Hotel no Madokora, BS NTV. BS4, Tokyo. Television.2013 Six Summit Small Salon event during Ivoryton Illuminations, Shoreline Times, New Haven, CT.2012 Oscar Laluyan, Colleen Blackard Changes How We Perceive Art, ArteFuse.com.Alison Pierz, Fairly Slow Art on Governors Island, New York, SlowArtDay.com. Artist Interview