The Studio in Bloom

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not." - Georgia O'Keeffe 


Sneak Peak of Painting in Progress; my studio full of blooms

For the Love of Frog Tape

 Just another roll of Frog Tape Being Put to good use: Before:

After another roll or so:  Here Be Dragons, 2014, 40" x 60,"Acrylic on Canvas

 Detail:

Big Show 2014 Lawndale Art Center

Hanging Gardens, 56" x 72", Acrylic on Canvas, 2014

Two of my pieces were selected by juror Erin Elder (Visual Arts Director, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe) to be included in Lawndale Art Center's "Big Show" in Houston. This past Friday, I was honored to receive the Prize for 'Best in Show' along with artists Peter Broz and Laura Pregeant.  The show will be up at Lawndale from July 11 - August 9.  

http://glasstire.com/2014/07/11/bouillet-broz-pregeant-big-shows-big-winners/

Playing Catch Up: Part 3

Along with my Residencies and studio work, I have been part of several group exhibitions in 2014: 

Introductions 

Trestle Gallery
Brooklyn, NY
Opening: January 10, 2014 7-9PM
January 10- February 14 Introductions was such a wonderful experience - the staff at Trestle Gallery are so supportive, and the work in the group show was superb.  A fun surprise: I was able to exhibit with the lovely Natalie Lomeli whom I met while attending a Residency at VSC. 

EXPO
Gallery 500x
show dates February 15 - March 2

EXPO was a group show of work from across Texas. I was thrilled to be a part of such a beautifully curated show incorporating a true spectrum of Texas Art. I was also honored with winning "Best in Show." The show was curated by Gabriel Ritter, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Texas Art 2014
Williams Tower Gallery
Houston, TX
Opening: January 22, 2014
January 22 - March 7
6PM
I was honored to have my work mentioned by curator Rock Hushka from the Tacoma Art Museum. 

McNeese State University
27th Annual National Works on Paper Exhibition
Lake Charles, LA
April 3 - May 15

I had three pieces selected for the McNeese National Works on Paper exhibition curated by Juror Louis Grachos, director of The Contemporary Austin in Austin, Texas.  I was also thrilled to be selected as one of the Juror's Mention Awards. 

Playing Catch Up: Part 2

Playing Catch Up: Part 2


While at VSC, I was informed that I had been awarded the Spring Artist in Residence position at HCC Southeast in Houston. My proposed project, "On the Map of My Empire," is a large-scale installation based on the collected memories of real or imagined locations combined to build an evolving city. The project, inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, questions the potential of a city when planners are not limited by traditional urban theory.

Over the course of the month long installation, the space continued to evolve day to day as scenes were added or altered to the sprawling city. The city became a collective patchwork of memories based on reality interspersed with magical and fantastical occurrences. The space is beautiful - Japanese inspired architecture on a stage with gorgeous light streaming through the windows. The project will remain at HCC Southeast through August 2014.

You can listen to my artist's talk here

Playing Catch Up: Part 1

Playing Catch-Up: Graduate School: MICA

It's hard to believe it has been a year since I finished my thesis show at Maryland Institute College of Art. It was an exhausting but exhilarating two years in Baltimore. While away from my Southern roots, I gained a family of artists and visionaries- people who love to create as much as I do- who never bore when talking about color theory or paint application. I am grateful to be a part of such an incredible group of artists. After two years at MICA, I learned to trust myself and my strange obsessions . . .

Celan Bouillet, Thesis Show, MICA Meyerhoff Gallery 2013

My thesis work was featured on Bmore Blog

VSC Residency

In the Fall, I traveled to Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont to complete a month long artist residency. I was delighted to receive a full fellowship to attend VSC upon graduation. It was refreshing and a much needed break from city life. I hiked, had long conversations with artists from around the world, and focused on slowing down.  In the studio, I found myself making dozens of detailed drawings and watercolor studies for future paintings. My month in Vermont was exactly what I needed;  I left with armfull of work and a head full of ideas.

    Here Be Dragons, Watercolor on Paper, 22" x 30"

A link to the VSC website:

http://www.vermontstudiocenter.org/

Somewhere in the Bayou

After spending two years in Baltimore for my MFA at MICA, I am back in the Bayou. It's good to be home. I have set up my studio at Spring St Studios in Houston.

http://springstreetstudios.info/

Houston has an incredible arts community, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. Over the next few weeks, I will try to play catch-up on all of the new paintings, shows, residencies, and installations that have taken place over the past few months. I'm finally settled, happy, and painting.

As I play catch-up, please take a look at my updated website for current work:

www.comusinacelan.com