Artist Statement

I connect science, craft, image, and process in my paintings and drawings. My current work explores the variety and subtle differences in patterned surfaces of seashells. Each painting or drawing transcribes a specific shell; these patterns convey themes of time, growth, and impermanence. The artworks also serve as maps of their creation. The color test swatches left on the side, and the slight color shifts show my decisions and discoveries during the process.

The forms, patterns, and colors that serve as starting points for my compositions are sourced from photographs found in science books and on the Internet. Other recent series have examined images of Saturn's rings and star trails created through time-lapse photography, as well as spectroscopes and color-enhanced images.

My work is deeply influenced by the history and forms of early modernism, particularly when abstraction emerged. Growing up in rural Maine, near the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, instilled a profound respect for craft and a sense of wonder in the natural world. I aspire to capture fleeting moments of awe through a homemade creative process. 

Bio

Carrie Gundersdorf is an artist and educator who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, and Portland, ME. She has had solo exhibitions at La Loma Projects, Los Angeles; 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