Vera Sprunt
Artist Statement for Body of Work: Liminality
I am intrigued by the floral shape and profile when immersed in water and how this newly enlarged form becomes transfigured into a liminal world. Removed from its landscape to a watery oasis momentarily delays recognition, blurring the line between scale, space and time.
Liminality comes from the Latin word limen, meaning threshold. To experience the liminal is to stand at the edge between two segments of time. This liminal zone offers a space for reflection, a release from that which comes before or after. It is a place of possibilities, growth and spiritual transformation.
Cool, clear water with its flickering, ever changing light source, is my canvas. Fragile and fleeting, the water's restless energy, movement and temporary suspended stillness is my creative playground. This is where I find solace, where sounds become rhythmic, where ideas are born and momentary beauty observed.
Desert flowers, magnified by the camera lens become sculptural, buoyant in a tideline between air and water, captured in an eternal fragility of light. Forever balancing life’s breath, these flowers play a leading role as the beautiful and ephemeral, celebrating the cyclical nature of life. Reaching for their last glimpse of light, I contemplate one's own life and it's passing.
My past experience as a lithographer has been instrumental in each work’s technical layering of information. All of the works are unique, one of a kind and are archival. They begin with images photographed underwater. These images are enlarged onto a transparent film and backed with layers of Mylar, hand painted with acrylic gouache paint. When light moves through the layers of film and Mylar it casts subtle shadows adding depth and a jewel-like brightness to each work. These bright hues act as magnifications of perception.
Works in Liminality
Betwixt
Chasing Twilight
Passage
Liminality
Liminal
Linger
Spindrift
Passage
Morningtide
Flutter
Eventide
Tideline 2
VERA SPRUNT
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Art with distinction, Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1989.
Master of Art, Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1987.
Bachelor of Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1977.
Finch College Abroad, Republic of San Marino, 1974.
Garrison Forest School, Owings Mills, Maryland, 1973.
ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
Tideline, Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 18 through May 16, 2008.
the Sound, Chiaroscuro, Monte Sol, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 1 through July 31, 2005.
Whole, (a traveling exhibition of hybrid photography and photogravures) The Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 22 - March 8, 2002 and The Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, North Carolina, November 21, 2002 - February 16, 2003.
Auriculae, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, September 30 - October 30, 1999.
Sprunt: An Exhibition of Lithographs and Mixed Media, University of New Mexico: Gallup Campus, Gallup, New Mexico, March 1 - 25, 1999.
Aggregates, The Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, November 22, 1996 - January 4, 1997.
Aggregates (first state), The Ruth Ramberg Gallery, Camera Works, Albuquerque, NM, July 5 - July 25, 1993.
Epiphanies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina, February 4 - March 5, 1993.
Printworks 1989 – 90, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 16 - November 17, 1989.
Aerial Journeys (third state), Camera Darkroom, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 29 - September 30, 1989.
Aerial Journeys (second state), Central Photographic, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 11 - September 5, 1989.
Aerial Journeys (first state), Sommers Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 10 - April 22, 1989.
TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
Vera Sprunt: Liminality, Lee Silton: Silent Universe, Gebert Gallery, Venice, California, Nov. 13 – Dec. 9, 2009.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Viridian Artists’ 1st International Juried Photography Exhibition, Director’s Choice Power Point Presentation, Viridian Artists Gallery, New York, New York, January 18 – February 5, 2011.
21st Annual International Juried Exhibition, Juror, Elisabeth Sussman, Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, Juror’s Choice Runner-up, Viridian Artists Gallery, New York, NY, July 6 – 24, 2010.
Anniversary Group Show, Gebert Gallery, Venice California, April 23 – June 16, 2010.
Texas National 2010, Juror, artist Judy Pfaff, the Cole Art Center @ the Old Opera House, Nacogdoches, Texas, April 10 – May 22, 2010.
Albuquerque Now-Winter, The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jan. 24 – April 18, 2010.
LA Art Show, Gebert Gallery, LA Convention Center, Jan 20 – 24, 2010.
+ 50 Works on Paper by Gallery Artists, Gebert Contemporary, Scottsdale, Arizona, Jan 7 – 31, 2010.
Anniversary Group Show, Gebert Gallery, Venice, California, May 1 – June 3, 2009.
Judicial Notice I, 2 and 3, Bernailillo County Courthouse, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Aug. 24, 2006 – Aug. 2007, August 2007 – May 2008 and August 2008 – May 2009.
All Artist Show, Chiaroscuro, Scottsdale, Arizona, April 12, 2007.
Print, Paper, Paint, Chiaroscuro, Scottsdale, Arizona, Sept. 7 – Oct. 2, 2006.
Flora and Fauna, Works on Paper, University Art Museum, Fine Arts Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 2 - May 5, 2005.
In Black and White, Chiaroscuro, Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, February, 2005.
Hybrid Photography, Chiaroscuro, Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 5 - 20, 2003.
Art Chicago 2003, Cline Fine Art, Festival Hall, Navy Pier, Chicago, May 9 - 12, 2003.
San Francisco International Art Exposition, Cline Fine Art, San Francisco - Fort Mason, Jan. 17 - 20, 2003.
Objects of Beauty, Cline Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Nov. 15 - Dec. 31, 2002.
Polaroid: The New Mexico Connection, University Art Museum, Fine Arts Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M., Jan. 15 - April 14, 2002.
Red: colors, symbols and emotions, Gallery 214, Montclair, N.J., May 16-June 3, 2000.
The Element Show, a contemporary invitational, Helix Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico,
April 21 - May 17, 2000.
Millennium Collection, National Association of Women Artists, Feminist Expo, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland, March 31 - April 2, 2000.
Midwest Photography Invitational X, Lawton Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, Sept. 15 - Oct. 17, 1998; Carlsten Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, Jan. 25 - Feb. 14, 1999, Art Center Gallery, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, May 1 - May 30, 1999, Wisconsin Union Galleries, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, June 1 - July 15, 1999; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, MI, Aug. 1 - 30, 1999; Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona, MN, Sept. 15 - Oct. 15, 1999; Rahr-West Art Museum, Manitowoc, WI, Nov. 7 - Dec. 5, 1999; Gogebic College Foundation, Ironwood, MI, Dec. 15 - Jan. 15, 2000; Ohio Northern University, Ida, OH, Feb. 1 - March 1, 2000; Tennessee Technological University, Cooksville, TN, March 15 - April 15, 2000.
National Association of Women Artists, Inc., Shelter Rock Art Gallery, Manhasset, NY, Feb. 6 - April 7, 1999.
National Printmaking 1999, The College of New Jersey, Department of Art, Ewing, NJ, Jan. 20 - Feb. 17, 1999.
110th Annual: National Association of Women Artists, Inc., New World Art Center, NY, NY, Feb. 5 - 26, 1999.
A Moment in Time-Photography Exhibit, The Fredericksburg Center For The Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, Virginia, Jan. 4 - 31, 1999.
The Figure Revisited, Galeria Mesa, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona, Dec. 2, 1998 - Jan. 2, 1999.
Alternative Interpretations, The Drury College Cox Gallery, Drury College, Springfield, Missouri, Nov. 23 - Dec. 19, 1998.
Contents and Contexts: Lithography after 200 years, an international juried and invitational exhibition of contemporary lithographs, Academy Art Center Gallery, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 4 - 30, 1998, Acquisition Award, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Pressed and Pulled VII, Blackbridge Hall Gallery and the Museum and Archives of Georgia Education, Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, Georgia, Aug. 24 - Sept. 25, 1998.
The School of the U., University Art Museum, 516 Gallery Downtown, Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 14 - March 29, 1997.
Ruins, Relics and Remains, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, April 5 - 30, 1995.
Highlands University Fine Arts Faculty Art Show, Arrott Art Gallery, Las Vegas, New Mexico, October 16 - November 9, 1994.
Reproduction in the Age of Multiples, Pyramid Arts Center, Rochester, New York, December 10, 1993 - January 21, 1994.
Southeast by Southwest: Paintings from Athens, Georgia: Prints from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Four-person curated show, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, School of Art and Design, Alfred University, Alfred, New York, November 3 - December 5, 1993.
New Mexico 1993, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 6 - May 23,1993.
21 Steps, The University Art Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, March 22 - April 28, 1993.
Exhibition of Prints, UNM Centennial Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 9 - December 17, 1992.
21 Steps, Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 25 - October 2, 1992.
Invitational Printmaking Exhibition, Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Mexico, June 1992.
New Mexico Impressions: Printmaking 1880 - 1990, University Art Museum, Fine Arts Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 8 - March 15, 1992.
Rituals and Primitive Origins, Sarratt Gallery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, February 6 – March 10, 1991.
Another View, Fosdick–Nelson Gallery, School of Art and Design, Alfred University, Alfred, New York, September 12 - September 30, 1990.
Printmaking in New Mexico: A Survey, The Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico; the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center, Carlsbad, New Mexico; and San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico, 1990.
Light Aberrations Exhibition, Juror: Thomas Barrow, University of Texas at San Antonio Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, April 10 - May 4, 1990.
Invitational Print Exchange Exhibition, Chambers Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, January 15 - February 16, 1990.
1989 D. H. Lawrence Summer Workshop, Sommers Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 1989.
Scholastic Invitational Art Exhibit, El Paso Community College, El Paso, Texas, May 1989
Annual MA/MFA Exhibition: 1989, University Art Museum, Fine Arts Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 1989.
Polaroid 20" x 24" Exhibition, Raw Space Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March, 1988 and the Van Deren Coke Gallery of the University Art Museum, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 1989.
Conceptions Southwest Exhibit, ASA Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 1988 and 1984.
Annual MA/MFA Exhibition: 1987, University Art Museum, Fine Arts Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 1987.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Alternatives” – Issue Twelve, Finitefoto, Vera Sprunt, 19 images, December 2010, finitefoto.com.
“floating or sinking,” Hollis Walker for the Journal, Santa Fe/North, May 9, 2008, pg. S8.
“Must See Art Shows,” Aline Brandauer, SantaFe.com, Friday, April 18, 2008.
"Print, Paper, Paint," Wynter Holden, ARTnews, December 2006, page 160.
"Vera Sprunt: the Sound," Mokha Laget, THE, Santa Fe's Monthly Magazine of the Arts, September 2005.
“Vera Sprunt,” Ellen Berkovitch, Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe New Mexican, July 1 - 7, 2005.
"Hybrid Perception," Teri Thomson Randall, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment and Culture, July 4 - 10, 2003, pages 34, 35.
"Vera Sprunt," Catalog for Sprunt's solo exhibitions, the Jonson Gallery, Albuquerque, NM and the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC, essay by Ellen Berkovitch, 2002 - 2003.
"Artists Triumph Over Adversity," Wesley Pulkka, The Sunday Journal, Albuquerque, NM,
12/29/02, pg. F2.
"Sprunt has ear for photos," Amanda Greene, Wilmington Morning Star, Wilmington, NC, 11/22/02, pg. 30.
"Vera Sprunt: Whole," Jon Carver, THE, Santa Fe's Monthly Magazine of the Arts, April 2002, page 44.
"Images seek to make us whole," Wesley Pulkka, The Sunday Journal, Albuquerque, 2/24/02, page F4.
"Hearing the World with Sight," Angela Williams, New Mexico Daily Lobo, 2/14/02, pages 11, 12.
"The Element Show: A Contemporary Invitational," Jon Carver, THE, Santa Fe's Monthly Magazine of the Arts, June 2000, page 55.
"Art Matters," Ellen Berkovitch, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment and Culture, May 12 - 18, 2000, pages 22, 24.
"Artemisia Gallery, Vera Sprunt, Auriculae," (Recommended show in "5 Shows To See Now"), Michael Weinstein, Newcity, Chicago, October 14, 1999, pages 44, 46.
"Midwest Photography Invitational X," a national touring exhibition, Sept. 8, 1998 - April 15, 2000, organized by the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, catalog includes color reproduction of Sprunt's Aggregate 4/12/96.
"TCNJ Shows Printmaking Prowess," Jan Purcell, The Trenton Times, 2/ 5/99, page F19.
"The Figure Revisited," Galeria Mesa, Mesa, AZ, 12/ 2/98 - 1/ 2/99, catalog.
"Pressed and Pulled 7, National Juried Printmaking Exhibition," Georgia College and State University, Dept. of Art, 8/24 - 8/25/98, catalog includes reproduction of Sprunt's lithograph.
"Notable, Vera Sprunt," Deirdre McGruder, Sunday Star News, Wilmington, N.C., 1/ 26/97, page 4D.
"Sprunt's Creations Happen In the Moment," Marcia McEven, Pasatiempo, The New Mexican's Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment and Culture, Nov. 22-28, 1996, page 23.
"Actualized Dreams," Ellen Berkovitch, Journal North, Albuquerque Journal, 12/5/96, page 4.
“Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Papers,” Vera Henderson Sprunt, Box 110, Folder 14, 1993, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Los Angeles, California.
"21 Steps," Jonson Gallery, The University of New Mexico, Aug. 25 - Oct. 2, 1992, catalog includes reproduction of Sprunt's waterless planograph.
Printmaking in New Mexico, Clinton Adams, The University of New Mexico Press, 1991, includes color reproduction of Sprunt's waterless planograph, page 131.
"Conceptions Southwest," Art and Literary Magazine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Spring 1984, Spring 1987 (cover artist) and Fall 1988.
"Information Exchange," Fall, 1986, Volume 9, Number 2, John Sommers, The Tamarind Papers, University of New Mexico, page 66.
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii
Hilton Hotel, Bonnet Creek, Orlando, Florida
Polaroid International Collection, Polaroid Corporation, New York, New York
Rutgers University Libraries, Mabel Smith Douglass Library, Contemporary Women Artists Files, 2000 - 2001
The Jonson Gallery of the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
University of New Mexico Art Museum Permanent Collection, Albuquerque, New Mexico