Scott Espeseth
medium: graphic art
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Contact information
630 W. Olin Ave. #1
Madison, WI 53715
Email Address: espeseth@beloit.edu
Artist statement
In this body of drawings, I observe the textures and atmospheres of my everyday environment and weave them into idiosyncratic, lonesome narratives. I use graphite on paper, which is soft, silvery and seemingly immaterial. I develop rich tones and surfaces with layer after layer of shimmering, translucent graphite, often to the point of obscuring the image. Indeed, many of the subject I depict are obscured, veiled or pushed to the edges of perception, leaving the viewer with the sense they are seeing an illusion or a foggy recollection. There is a sense of deep, absorbing space packed into a very small space. Images of domestic nightmares coexist with science fiction in the same vast, unpopulated spaces. Mundane disasters become metaphors for isolation, uncertainty, neglect, disappointment and the failures of contemporary life.
My intent with these images is not entirely melancholy, however, as each image contains a quiet beauty and often a touch of humor. I make drawings that elucidate the bitter-sweetness of everyday life.
Biography
Born: Bowie, Maryland, 1975.
Education:
2000, MFA, University of Wisconsin-Madison, graphics
1997, BFA, West Virginia University, printmaking
Selected exhibitions:
2003 "The Drawerling Show," Unit B Gallery, Chicago, Ill. Group exhibition.
2003 "Dark Spring," Drive Thru Studios, Chicago, Ill. Group exhibition.
2003 "ANA Intaglio Engraving Exhibition," Coburn Gallery, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO. Group exhibition.
2003 "Madison Open Art Studios Exhibition," Art Beat Gallery, Madison, Wis. Group exhibition.
2002 "Pressed and Pulled X National Juried Printmaking Exhibition", Blackbridge Hall Gallery, Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, GA. Juror: Carmon Colangelo, Artist.
2002 "The North Park Printmakers", Hays Arts Council, Hays, KS. Group Exhibition.
2001 "Paper Work", Class of 1925 Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. Solo Exhibition.
2001 "Twenty-something", Appleton Art Center, Appleton, WI. Invited Exhibition.
2001 "The 3rd Minnesota National Print Biennial", Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Jurors: Lyndel King, Director, Frederick R. Weisman Museum; Patricia McDonnell, Curator, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum; T. L. Solien, Artist.
2001 "16th National Biennial of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society", Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. Juror: David Rhodes, Director, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the UCLA Hammer Museum.