Intro

Resume Artist's Statement Bio

Resume

• Try to keep it to 2 or 3 pages; maximum 5

(a resume is not a CV)

• Keep it succinct and focused only on art/

design related activities.

• Customize multiple resume versions for

each kind of activity for which you apply.

You might have a version for exhibitions,

residencies, employment, commissions…

Resume

Avoid gimmicks, borders and "fancy" fonts.

Use a clean sans serif font 10 pts or larger.

Resume

Clarity trumps design and novelty

Resume

Clarity trumps design and novelty

Resume

Resume

• Lead with education/credentials

• Typically do NOT include "strengths",

"professional attributes" or "skills" for

exhibition or residency resumes. For

employment resumes include any skills at

the end that are not evident or strongly

implied by the other listings.

• Next list arts related employment and/or

Gallery Representation

Resume

• Next list exhibitions. If you have a lot and a

great variety, break them down by type,

otherwise simply list them all together in

reverse chronological order.

1. Solo Exhibitions

2. Two Person and Small Group Exhibitions (<5)

3. Large Group Exhibitions

4. Juried Exhibitions

Resume

1. List exhibitions with enough info so that readers

have a sense of their significance. Providing

somewhat more info is better than less. Do not

over inflate your accomplishments or mislead by

omission.

2. Include the names of jurors/curators where

available and their title. For juried exhibitions list

the number of entries and the number accepted.

Resume

Examples:

Solo Exhibitions

2013 Siren’s Song, Malone Art Gallery, Troy University, Troy, AL.

(full gallery installation)

2012 Subimago, Overbrook Art Gallery, Muskegon Community

College, Muskegon, MI. (10)

Juried Exhibitions

2011 Toledo Area Artists 93rd Annual Exhibition, Toledo Museum of

Art, Toledo, OH. Jurors: Amy Gillman, Head Curator of

Contemporary Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, and Brian

Kennedy Director, The Toledo Museum of Art. 757 entries,

8% accepted. (1)

Resume

• Next list works in permanent collections,

professional commissions and consultancies

including murals and outdoor sculpture.

• Only include listings that add to your professional

standing. Give enough information to convey the

significance of the activity. This might include the

remuneration, size/scale of the project or the

importance of the commissioner/organization

(Typically these are paid. A good gut check is if

you feel you the need to misrepresent through

inflation or omission do not include.)

Resume

• Next list residencies, workshops, artist talks and

other invited, selective, activities such as requests

to jury or demonstrations. This can include

participation in selective art fairs.

• If you have a lot of activities break them into

categories, otherwise put them under one listing.

Resume

• Next list publications that have included you or

your work. Only list catalogs, articles and books

that mention you or your work by name or include

a photo of your work. Include URLs for online

publications. Do not include personal sites or un-

curated online galleries (such as Deviantart).

• Collins, Kianna, “Stimulating Exhibit”, Tropolitan News, Troy, AL,

Vol. 87, Is. 2, p.5, Aug. 22, 2013. Includes photo.

• Vo, Ngoc, “Siren’s Song Ends with Inspirational Reception”,

Tropilitan News, Troy, AL, Vol. 87, Is. 8, Sept. 26, 2013.

Resume

• Finally list awards, grants and other substantial

forms or recognition that do not fit into the other

categories. Make sure to include enough

information to make the significance clear.

Resume Summary

Your Name

Adress

Phone

Email/ website

• Education/ credentials

• Arts Related Employment/ Gallery Representation

• Exhibitions1. Solo Exhibitions

2. Two Person and Small Group Exhibitions

3. Large Group Exhibitions

4. Juried Exhibitions

• Permanent collections/ commissions/ consultancies

• Residencies/ workshops/ artist talks

• Publications

• Awards, grants and other recognition.

Artist's Statement

Purpose/ Function

Artist Statements

self analysispersonal “mission statement”

marketingpropaganda

Purpose/ Function

Artist Statements

self analysispersonal “mission statement”

marketingpropaganda

introduction

Form

Artist Statements

Narrative arc

Length

Focus

Style: Consider your audience(s)

Artist Statements

Discursive approach

Rhetoric

Specificity/generality

Over-reach/hyperbole

Artist Statements

Artist Statements

Artist Statements

Purpose

Writing an artist’s statement is difficult

because if the work is any good, it is

very often complex—operating on many

formal and conceptual levels.

A successful statement in most cases

cannot accommodate all these levels,

so it must condense, prioritize, and

often ignore some of them. Do not think

of the statement as “capturing” or

“defining” the work. You are not trying

to explain the work away. Think of it

as a roadmap that helps viewers

orient themselves to your work and

concerns.

Purpose

An artist statement should serve as an

introduction to your work and concerns

Avoid TLI and TMI

Purpose

An artist statement should serve as an

introduction to your work and concerns

Avoid TLI and TMI

Purpose

An artist statement is not:

a justification: If you feel like you need to justify the work then you

should probably be making different or better work.

an artist bio: Include personal history only as it directly relates the

work.

a résumé: This is not the place to talk about any awards that the

work may have won, or shows it was in. Usually it’s bad form to

quote from reviews. It’s always bad form to quote yourself.

a catalog raisonne or a work chronology: “First I did this, then I

did that, then I did the other… It’s ok to talk about process or how

one work leads into another but you need to talk about how or why

one thing led to another.

Preparation

Before you attempt to write the

statement, take some time to write out

answers to the following questions.

YOU ARE NOT WRITING THE

STATEMENT YET! Just get your

answers down on paper. Do not over

think it or worry about grammar.

Really dig. Do not let yourself off the

hook with superficial answers.

Spending some time answering these

questions will pay off in an artist

statement that is more informative and

compelling, and it will make writing the

statement MUCH easier:

Preparation

Why do you do what you do?

Why, of all the things that one could

choose to do and be in the world

would anyone, let alone you, want

to be an artist?

Preparation

Why the materials and processes

you use? Why paint and not

prints? Why clay? What’s the

attraction? Why wheel rather than

hand built, or additive instead of

subtractive? DIG! “…because I like

it” (it feels right, I enjoy it, because

I hate…, I was drawn to) does not

answer anything. WHY? Is the

question you need to answer.

Preparation

Who or what are the most

important influences and

experiences that have shaped

your life and your work?

Preparation

What does the work look like?

Take a representative piece and

describe it as if you were talking to

the blind or to your mother on the

telephone. Use descriptive

adjectives and dynamic verbs. Do

not overlook the obvious.

Preparation

What ties most of the work

together? What identifies your

work as yours and not hers? Look

over a long span. Are there formal

or conceptual threads that many of

artworks seem to be revisiting over

and over again?

Writing

Use the “sap to syrup” method.

It takes over 40 gallons of sap to

make 1 gallon of syrup. Write 2 to

5 pages. Boil that down to a page

and a half. Then edit that to a

page. Edit the page to a

paragraph. This works especially

well because you really need 3

artist statements:

Writing

1. The “academic” version. 500-1500 words. Good for applying to academic positions, for catalogues or brief

presentations.

2. The “gallery” version. 200-500 words. Good for catalogues, applying for shows, wall statements

3. The “press” version. 25-100 words. Good for fliers, press listings, promotional material, exhibition

listings. Often combined with a distillation of the artist’s bio to form

the “blurb”.

Three Statements

Writing

• Don’t write “I think”, I believe”, or

“I feel”. You are writing it! It’s a

given. Avoid over-equivocation.

•Try to avoid over use of “I”, “my”,

“me”, “mine.” Use instead “These”

and “The”. Over use of personal

pronouns makes you sound like a

spoiled three-year-old.

Writing

Avoid too many comparisons to

well known artists. You will usually

lose in the comparison.

Always distinguish how your work

or concerns are different from

theirs, as well as any similarities.

Writing

Avoid pseudo adjectives:

interesting, beautiful, distinctive,

exciting, personal, unique,

pleasing, harmonious etc.

Also avoid redundant modifiers

that just pad the sentence.

Examples: painful toothache,

sharp needle, weighty concrete,

colorful paint, etc.

Here’s the test: Does the modifier

clarify the image?

Writing

Limit yourself to using the

word “juxtaposition” only

once in the statement.

Better still, try not to use it.

The Takeaway

If you haven’t learned anything

new about your work in the

process of writing an artist

statement then you are not

digging deep enough. You need

to be more perceptive, critical,

descriptive and self-reflective.

The Takeaway

An artist statement should

serve simply as an

engaging introduction to

your work and concerns.

The Takeaway

Share your mania.

Focus on what motivates you to

make the work that you do.

Make your interest, investment

and excitement infectious.

Bio

• Bio- a brief profile that includes a summary

of an artist's background and professional

achievements. Typically written in the 3rd

person.

• Blurb- a brief profile that combines the artist's

bio with elements of the artist's statement

to produce a profile of the artist and their

professional concerns.

Bio Form

<Full Name> is a <type of artist> originally from from

<city, state> who <one sentence description of artistic

activities> . <Last name> <authentication background

to include education and/or other training/transforming

life experiences> and has been included in <2-4

important exhibitions or achievements>. <Last Name>

currently lives in <city, state> where they <one or two

sentence description of current occupation, pertinent

activites or life situation> <If there is a big achivement

or professional change on the horizon, end with that >.

Bio Example

Daniel Freemarket is a painter originally from from Pottsdam,

Nebraska who specializes in bird portraiture. Freemarket was

abandoned as an infant and was raised by a flock of starlings until

age seven when he was discovered and subsequently adopted by

a family of migrant workers. These early experiences have fueled

his lifelong interest in ornithology and identity politics, both of which

figure largely in his work. Freemaket's delicate and disturbing

paintings have been included in the last two Whitney Biennials and

graced the covers of National Geographic and SQUWALK

Magazines. Freemarket currently lives in Slome, Norway where he

teaches painting at the Arkenstuck Institute and serves on

Norway's Stronen Commission for habitat preservation. The first

major monograph of his work will be published in Spring 2016 by

Aneuthstussen Press.

Blurb Example