Artist Statement

My drawings and paintings connect the fields of art and science by using images of natural and astronomical phenomena in an endeavor to look at the edges of empirical knowledge. I am interested in the attempt to observe something that remains out of reach and, ultimately, how this pursuit reflects on the observer themself.

Forms, patterns, and colors found in photographs from science books and the Internet are compositional starting points. My current work looks at images of seashells, exploring the variety and subtle differences between their patterned surfaces. Other recent bodies of work have engaged images of Saturn's rings and star trails constructed by time-lapse exposures, spectroscopes, and color-enhanced photography.

The process of the work’s making is seen in the color test swatches left on the sides of the image and the slow, deliberate mark-making. These reveal the small discoveries made while drawing a picture.

My work is indebted to the history and forms of early modernism, particularly when abstraction begins to take shape. Growing up in rural Maine, near the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, instilled a respect for craft and a sense of discovery and wonder in the natural world. My art leans towards the aspiration of creating an amateur science project – aiming for a moment of awe through a homemade process.  

Bio

Carrie Gundersdorf is an artist and educator who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She has had solo exhibitions at the Korn Gallery, Drew University, Madison, NJ, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL, and Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at 106 Green, New York, NY; Mills College Art Museum, Oakland, CA; La Box, Bourges, France; Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL; Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and Loyola Museum of Art, Chicago, IL. Gundersdorf’s work has been reviewed in Art Review, Artforum.com, Artnet, Art on Paper, Chicago Tribune, and Time Out Chicago. She was awarded the Artadia Award, in Chicago, IL, and the Bingham Fellowship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Gundersdorf received her B.A. from Connecticut College and her M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Contact: carriegund@gmail.com