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As technology alters the direction of our lives
more everyday it has been difficult to hold to the conviction that
the work of artists is some of the most important know to human-kind.
My belief in the presence of working artists, and in my own work, has
grown as visual art is seen as more frivolous and inaccessible. Visual
art is but one source of entertainment available to us, in no way privileged
above video games or paint-ball tournaments. Overlooked and under-appreciated
by the great majority of us today art no longer represents a golden key
to cultural ascendancy. Yet I believe, as many still do, that the
arts provide deep, enduring nourishment to our lives, nourishment without
which we would struggle to flourish as a species.
What drives me as an artist
is the content or message of my artwork, and is a rationale for my
use
of unconventional materials such a recycled plastic, as well as
my endeavor to
incorporate poems I have written or phrases
into my paintings. Although I believe that I have something
to say I disagree with the convention of the artist communicating
to the viewer through their art. As I work I begin to see the
words and pictures transform. They are no longer mine; they
have become more universal. In that sense my paintings speak for
themselves. Having come from somewhere else, their poetic
rantings rise from the canvas more organically. As the artist,
however, I do not give order to nature’s chaos. We are responsible for the
chaos around us, even as the civilized world has designs for order in it
we still, unwittingly, contribute our energy to creating this chaos. We cannot bring about
order, but only uncover truth as it lives naturally in the universe. So I work to uncover this truth.
Once exposed this truth will not last long for us. Yet, art
exists in
a different realm, a realm where truth and order, once removed from nature,
are sustained and live for themselves. It is art when it retreats
from this world and enters another; it draws you in and you can sense
a depth and feel its loneliness. I grapple with depth and feeling
of distance in my exploration of landscape. In this distance
the land reflects our past, and is our conscience. While my
work shows an underlying concern for our environment, I seek always to
reveal something beautiful, and express that how we treat the land is
how we treat each other, that we can find in the land a foretelling
of what kind of future we may have.
Resume___________________________________________________________
Selected
Live Coverage – Exhibition and Auction
Exhibitions
Urban Institute of Contemporary
Art
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2008
Atlanta Youth
Academy Benefit Art Auction
Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia, 2007
Juried Exhibition, Muskegon Museum of Art
Muskegon, Michigan, 2007
West Michigan Area Show
Juried Exhibition, Kalamazoo
Institute of Arts
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2007
Festival Regional Art Competition,
38th Annual Juried Exhibition,
Grand Rapids Art Museum
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007
Michigan Fine Arts Competition
26th Annual Juried Exhibition,
Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center,
Birmingham, Michigan, 2007
Celebration of the Arts
34th Annual Juried Art Exhibition,
First United Methodist Church,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2007
InnerScapes
Group Show, Lowell Area Arts
Council
Lowell, Michigan, 2006
78th Regional Exhibition
Juried Exhibition, Muskegon
Museum of Art
Muskegon, Michigan, 2006
West Michigan Area Show
Juried Exhibition, Kalamazoo
Institute of Arts
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2006
Postcards and Billboards –
Solo Exhibition
House On Main gallery
Royal Oak, Michigan, 2006
District 59 Fine Arts Festival
Guest Artist, Holmes Junior
High School
Mount
Prospect, Illinois 2006
Celebration of the Arts
33rd Annual Juried Art Exhibition,
First United Methodist Church,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2006
All Michigan
Juried Exhibition
Rankin Art Gallery, Ferris State University,
Big Rapids, Michigan, 2005
Shadow Show – Group Exhibition
Hungry Heart Cafe, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 2005
42nd Annual Juried Fine
Art Exhibition
Holland Area Arts Council,
Holland, Michigan, 2005
Festival
Regional Art Competition, 36th Annual Juried Exhibition,
Grand
Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005
Live Coverage – Exhibition and Auction,
Urban Institute of Contemporary Art
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005
Reclamation – Solo Exhibition, Parlor
Gallery, Trinity
United Methodist Church,
Grand Rapids, Michigan,
2005
Celebration of the Arts,
32nd Annual Juried Art Exhibition, First United Methodist
Church, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 2005
Between the Forest and the City – Solo Exhibition, Common Ground Coffee House,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004
New Paintings – Solo Exhibition, www.curtisfrillmann.com,
On Line Gallery, 2004
“Plein Air” paintings see
the world – Solo Exhibition, Caribou Coffee,
Chicago,
Illinois, 1999
Words and Pictures– Solo Exhibition, Spice Factory Lofts,
Chicago, Illinois, 1998
Sculptures and Drawings– Solo Exhibition, Caffé Fino,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1992
Regional Art Exhibition, Harper College, Palatine,
Illinois, 1985
Regional Art Exhibition, Schaumburg Public Library,
Schaumburg, Illinois, 1985
Awards &
Commission
Honors
Holmes Junior High School, Mount Prospect, Illinois 2006
Guest Lecturer
Art Break Lecture Series
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2006
Third Prize, 42nd Annual
Juried Fine Art Exhibition
Holland Area Arts Council, Holland, Michigan, 2005
First Prize, Celebration of the Arts,
32nd Annual Juried Art Competition, First United
Methodist Church, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 2005
Commission, Caribou Coffee,
Chicago, Illinois, 1999
Commission, Alumni Corporation of Phi Gamma
Delta,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1991
Finalist, School of Business Administration
sculpture contest, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1988
Scholarship, Texas Christian University,
School of Fine Art, Fort Worth, Texas,1984
Publications
Grand
Rapids Press
“Eastertide: The mural of the
story,” feature article
by Paul R. Kopenkoskey, March
15, 2008
Recoil Magazine
“Artist- Curtis Frillmann,”
feature article
by Nicholas Stephenson, June,
2007
Kalamazoo Gazette
“Earth is focus of artist
using recycled materials,” feature article
by Nicholas Stephenson, April
22, 2007
Kalamazoo Gazette
“Treasures amid the jumble
of area show,” feature article
by Amy Sult Stevens, April
1, 2007
Kalamazoo Gazette
“Mix of themes highlight show,”
Front-page headline article
by William R Wood, March 24,
2007
Grand Rapids Press
“Artist, writer unite,” feature
article
by Gail Philbin, October 8,
2006
Lowell Ledger
“Arts council exhibit blends
art, literature,” feature article
by Dan Schneider, , September
13, 2006
The Daily
Herald “Artist to demonstrate his craft at show,” feature article
By Sue Ter Maat, March 3, 2006
The Holland Sentinel, “Show winners chosen,”
article
September 29, 200
Grand Rapids Press, “Juror thrilled with art choices,”
feature article
by Sylvia Krissoff, January 29, 2005
On-the-Town Magazine, “Finding
Common Ground,” article,
January
2005
Affiliations
Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Visual
Art Committee- Selected to jury
and curate exhibitions
of this major contemporary art venue,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 2004 - present
Education
University of Michigan, Bachelor of Fine
Arts, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1992
School of the Art Institute of Chicago,
Chicago, Illinois, 1986
© 2008 Curtis Frillmann
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