Rebecca Crowell

Rebecca Crowell has been a professional artist for over thirty years, and is widely known for her innovative painting techniques involving cold wax medium and oils. She teaches these methods both in the US and internationally, and in 2017, she and her co-author Jerry McLaughlin published the first comprehensive book on the topic, ‘Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations’.

Crowell’s work is handled by galleries in Dublin, Chicago, and Atlanta, as well as in Tucson, Arizona; Vallejo, California; Telluride, Colorado, and several regional galleries in Wisconsin. It is included in hundreds of private, public and corporate collections. She has been awarded eleven artist residencies since 2001, at locations in Ireland, Sweden, Spain and the US. Public commissions include two separate installations for the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. Crowell was recognized by John Seed of the Huffington Post in his article, Ten Memorable Paintings of 2014 “Rebecca Crowell has what Richard Diebenkorn and Agnes Martin had - the ability to let the landscape come through her.” – John Seed, Huffington Post Review – 10 Memorable Paintings.

"Certain kinds of landscapes move me, and feel like home to my soul. They are rugged, wild, and vast places, yet also contain softness, quiet and mystery. I’ve spent time in places like this in Ireland, northern Sweden, New Mexico and New Zealand—walking, exploring, photographing, and simply being alone in the landscape. Certain moments seem to hold an essence of the place, and these form especially strong sensory memories. Tapping back into these memories leads to my abstract vocabulary of colour, texture, line and shape.

Painting satisfies a basic need for me--a channel to my inner self, a reflection of these meaningful experiences, and a path to new discoveries. I’ve been painting professionally for over 30 years, and remain challenged and energized by my process. I work with a balance of spontaneity and careful editing, moving back and forth from intuitive flow to thoughtful analysis. My aim is to achieve structural integrity and strength through the accumulation of quiet passages and nuanced surfaces. I build up multiple layers of paint (with additives including cold wax medium, powdered pigments and sand). Sometimes the layers are thick and textural, other times they are thin veils of colour. The layers are selectively scratched, eroded and dissolved, an approach that reflects natural processes of the rugged places I love" —Rebecca Crowell


Education

1985 MFA in Painting, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ

1982 BFA in Painting, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI

Selected Exhibitions

2017

Affordable Art Fair, Hamstead, London, England (w/Gormleys Dublin)

Summer Exhibit, group show, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO

Abstraction, group show, Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

Still Moving, solo exhibit, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, Ireland

2016

Spirit in the Land, group show, Addington Gallery, Chicago

London Art Fair London, England (with Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin)

Interplay, Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA. (two-person show)

2015

Affordable Art Fair, Battersea, London, England (with Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin)

Timothy Cobb Fine Arts, Milwaukee, WI

30th Anniversary Exhibition, Telluride Gallery, Telluride, CO

London Art Fair, London, England (with Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin)

Breaking Down Surface Tension, group show, Bernal Gallery, Pima College, Tucson, AZ

A Gift of Days, solo exhibit, Eau Claire Public Library, Eau Claire, WI

Colors of Fire, group show, Telluride Gallery, Telluride, C

2014

Spaces Within, Solo exhibit, Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland

Affordable Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium (with Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin)

Affordable Art Fair, London, England (with Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin)

Spring Exhibit, group show, PS Gallery, Columbia, MO

Six Women, group show, Elaine Erickson Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2013

Beneath the Surface, solo exhibit, Pratt Museum, Homer, AK

The White Show, Telluride Gallery, Telluride, CO

2012 Vestiges, 2-person show, Elaine Erickson Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

2011 group exhibit, Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland

Darnell Fine Art, solo exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

Woodwalk Gallery, two-person show, Egg Harbor, WI

2010 Darnell Fine Art, solo exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, two-person show, Telluride, CO

Circa Gallery, two person show, Minneapolis, MN

2009 Darnell Fine Art, solo exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

Grace Chosey Gallery, two-person show, Madison, WI

Perlow-Stevens Gallery, group exhibit, Columbia, MO

2008 Darnell Fine Art, solo exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

Wilde Meyer Gallery, group show, Tucson, AZ.

2007 Polderland Gallery, solo exhibit, Milwaukee, WI

2006 Circa Gallery, solo exhibit, Minneapolis, MN

Midtown West Art Associates, group exhibit, New York, NY

2004 Circa Gallery, solo exhibit, Minneapolis, MN

2003 University of Wisconsin, Three Serious Artists, Eau Claire, WI

2002 Art Contemporani de Muntanya, group exhibit, Lleida, Spain

Professional Recognition + Activities

2016 Artist residency, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Co Mayo, Ireland

2015 Artist residency awarded, Ricklungarden, Saxnas, Sweden

Residency, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Co Mayo, Ireland

2014 Red Bog selected by John Seed, Huffington Post, as one of Ten Memorable Paintings of 2014

Fellowship awarded, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Co Mayo, Ireland

Painting commission, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

2013 Fellowship awarded, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Fellowship awarded AIR Serenbe, Atlanta, Georgia

2012 Artist residency awarded, Cill Rialaig Project, County Kerry, Ireland

2011 Artist residency awarded, Tyrone Guthrie Center, Annaghmakerrig, Ireland

Painting commission: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Purchase Award, Wisconsin Arts Board

2009 Spectrum/David Crowell Ensemble, Naxos Records cover art

2008 Artist residency, Centre d’Art I Natura, Farrera, Catalonia, Spain

Wisconsin Public Radio Interview, Spectrum West

2007 Exhibition curator; LE Phillips Public Library, Eau Claire, WI

2004 Purchase awards, Wisconsin Arts Board

2001 Artist residency, Centre D’Art I Natura, Catalonia, Spain

Visiting artist lecture, University of Minnesota, Morris, MN

Publications + Press

2017 author of Cold Wax Medium; Techniques, Concepts, and Conversations, with Jerry McLaughlin

2016 Interview, Savvy Painter podcast

Interview for Winter Edition, Encaustic Arts Magazine

Outside/Inside, Artists on Art Magazine, issue #18

2014 Ten Memorable Paintings; John Seed, Huffington Post

2011 Recent Work, 2009-2011(Rebecca Crowell)

Still Spaces, catalog for Gormelys Fine Art exhibition

2010 included in Vol. 11, Studio Visit Magazine

2009 Old Walls and Lost Paths: An Artist’s Residency in Catalonia, (Rebecca Crowell)

2008 Connections: Abstract Paintings 2006--2008(Rebecca Crowell )

1995 New American Paintings, Midwest Edition, Open Studios Press, MA

Public + Corporate Collections

Lumiere Telluride, Telluride, CO

Camel’s Garden Hotel, Telluride, CO

The Pratt Museum, Homer, AK

MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (2 commissions)

Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, Ireland

Jayson Lander and Associates, West Hollywood, CA

Scottsdale Waterfront Residencies, Scottsdale, AZ

Centre D’Art I Natura, Farrera, Catalunya, Spain

Winona State University, Winona, MN

Ceridean Corporation, Minneapolis, MN

Tapemark Corporation, Minneapolis, MN

Fabyanske, Westra and Heart, Attorneys at Law, Minneapolis, MN

University of Minnesota, Morris, MN

Tria Orthopedic Clinic, Minneapolis, MN

Robert Hill and Associates, Attorneys at Law, Minneapolis, MN

Williams, Venker and Sanders, Attorneys at Law, St. Louis, MO

Midwest Banking Center, St. Louis, MO

Reinsurance Group of America, St. Louis, MO

Solomon Brothers Developers, St. Louis, MO

Boone County Bank, Columbia, MO

Enterprise Bank, Clayton, MO

Solebury School, New Hope, PA

Dollar General Corporate Headquarters, Nashville, TN

University of Wisconsin campuses:

Eau Claire, Stout (Menomonie) , Madison, Milwaukee , Steven’s Point

Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Luther Hospital, Eau Claire, WI

Northwoods, Inc., Eau Claire, WI