Artist Bio

New Orleans artist Allison Stewart has gained recognition for her large, mixed media paintings that express the restless balance between man and nature. Trained as a biologist, Stewart is inspired by landscape imagery, specifically the vanishing Louisiana coastal wetlands. Stewart takes as her subject fragile environments, altered cycles of life, and evidence of man's mark on nature. She uses layers of color, light, form and texture to address issues of beauty and loss, time and transformation. Residing somewhere between realism and abstraction, the paintings are visual diaries upon which Stewart records her responses to the threatened landscape.

Among the awards Stewart has received, are numerous artist grants from the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, including a 1988-89 Visual Arts Fellowship, a Project Assistance Grant and an Artist Mini Grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. In 1991 she was awarded a Sheraton ITT New Orleans Public Arts Project commission. She was also commissioned to create paintings for the public spaces in the Hotel Intercontinental and Sheraton ITT in New Orleans, the Four Seasons Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ, Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami, Le Saint Seran Resort in Mauritius, South Africa, and the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the south of France.

In 1998, Stewart co-founded KID smART, a Louisiana 501.c.3 non-profit organization to teach under resourced children in inner city New Orleans important life lessons through hands on arts activities. Through in-school, after-school and Saturday classes in the visual and performing arts, KID smART provides a safe, nurturing environment for elementary and middle school children to learn life skills that will make them more successful in all walks of life: self esteem, teamwork, creative problem solving and pride of accomplishment. www.kidsmart.org

Stewart has served on several boards of directors of New Orleans arts organizations, including the Contemporary Arts Center and the Entergy Arts Business Center at the Arts Council of New Orleans, and currently for KID smART.

Allison Stewart has exhibited extensively throughout the United States. Her work is included in many public and corporate collections, including the U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies Program, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Historic New Orleans Collection, Texaco, Freeport McMoRan, Price Waterhouse Corp., Chase Manhattan Bank, ARCO, American Express, Sun Bank of Florida, Pan American Life, and the Pensacola Museum of Art. She is represented by the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans, Kathryn Markel Gallery in New York, Sandler Hudson Gallery in Atlanta, Sardella Fine Art in Aspen and Gail Severn Gallery in Ketchum, ID.

Stewart holds a B. S. in Biology from Spring Hill College and a M.F.A. from the University of New Orleans. She has taught art at Loyola University, University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, New Orleans Academy of Fine Art, the Aspen Art Museum and Anderson Ranch in Colorado. Stewart maintains studios in New Orleans and in Snowmass Village, CO.

Artist's Statement

Is landscape painting obsolete? Has this particular genre outlived its useftness in the current era of postmordenist deconstruction and Is there anything relevent about ecological disaster, anything we can address through visual means? Anything we can say about ourselves and our world that is worth saying? Or does landscape painting continue to be relevant in reflecting the human condition and our place in the continuum of life?

Painting is a way in and a way out. The act of painting becomes process, fluid energy, accretions of colors and forms, some appearing, some disintegrating under layers of pigment and washes. Like dance, the process is one of directed motion and concentration. Like humidity, it is more felt than seen. Like the tide, it ebbs and flows in crosscurrents and passages.

Painting is a means to help me recognize that we are part of an interconnected web of life that ultimately we cannot dominate.

EDUCATION

M.F.A., University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
B.S. Biology, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL

GRANTS, AWARDS, FELLOWSHIP

2005 Artist in Residence, Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass Village, CO
2002 Artist in Residence, Roaring Fork Club, Basalt, CO
2000 Artist selected for "Silver Circle Sculpture," Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
1998 Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Funding Grant
1997 Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Grant
1997 Louisiana Division of the Arts Project Assistance Grant
1997 Louisiana Division of the Arts Individual Artist Grant
1995 Mary Freeman Wisdom Foundation Grant
1991 Sheraton New Orleans Public Art Project Award and Commission, New Orleans, LA
1988 - 1989 Visual Arts Fellowship, Louisiana Division of the Arts
1988 Artist selected for "Century Club Print," Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
1983 Hotel Intercontinental Lobby Commission, New Orleans, LA

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2006 Sardella Fine Art, Aspen, CO
2006 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2006 Gallery Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL
2006 Buchanan Gallery, Galveston, TX
2005 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2005 Kathryn Markel Gallery, New York, NY
2004 Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2004 Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL
2004 Duval Smart Gallery, Aspen, CO
2003 Jules Place, Boston, MA
2003 Kathy Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN
2003 Gail Severn Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2002 Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
2002 Susan Duval Gallery, Aspen CO
2001, 1999, 1996, 1994, 1993, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1984, 1982, Arthur Roger Gallery, LA
2001 Castle Creek Gallery, Aspen, CO
2001 Jules Place, Boston, MA
2001 Sandy Carson Gallery, Denver CO
2000 River Oaks Square Arts Center, Alexandria, LA
2000 Kathy Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN
1999 Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
1999 Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL
1999 Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
1999 Sandler Hudson Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1998 Louisiana State University, Alexandria, LA
1997 William Carey College, Gulfport, MS
1996, 1994, 1992, 1991 Mario Villa Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Albertson Peterson Gallery, Winter Park, FL
1995 Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
1994, 1986 Barbara Gillman Gallery, Miami, FL
1994, 1992 Broadway Art Gallery, Asheville, NC
1991 Pensacola Junior College, Pensacola, FL
1985 Gallery 291, Atlanta, GA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2005 Anderson Ranch Residents Exhibit, Snowmass Village, CO
2005 New Orleans Triennial, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA
2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 “The Eloquent Flower” Gail Severn gallery, Ketchum, ID
2003 Cumberland Gallery, Nashville TN
2001 Faculty Exhibition, Anderson Ranch, Snowmass Village, CO
2001 "Gaia in the Gallery", Susan Duval Gallery, Aspen, CO
2000 Gail Severn Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
2000 River Oaks Square Arts Center, Alexandria, LA
2000 Sandy Carson Gallery, Denver, CO
1999 "Ten by Ten," Invitational, Addison Ripley Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1999 Visual Artist Fellowship Exhibit Travelling Exhibit, Baton Rouge, LA
1997 Hunter Museum, Chattanooga, TN
1997 "Visions of Landscape" Virginia Miller Gallery, Miami, FL
1997 "Artists from New Orleans," Okaloosa Community College, Okaloosa, FL
1997 Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
1997 Kathy Albers Gallery, Memphis, TN
1996 Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery AL
1996 "Louisiana Abstraction", Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
1996 "Major Louisiana Sculptors", Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
1996 "by Herself," Hanson Gallery, New Orleans, LA
1995 "Paper Works" Slidell Art Center, Slidell, LA
1995 State Street Gallery, Sarasota, FL
1995 Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
1995 "Art With a Southern Drawl" Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
1994 Kurts Bingham Gallery, Memphis, TN
1993 Savannah National, 1993, Savannah, GA
"The Book as Art" Invitational, Barbara Gillman Gallery, Miami, FL
1992 "Mostly Big" Invitational Exhibition, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
1994, 1993, 1991 Faculty Exhibit, New Orleans Academy of Fine Art, New Orleans, LA.
1990 New Year New Work, Island Gallery, Vero Beach, FL
1989 "New Orleans 1989 Invitational, A View of Contemporary Women Artists," Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, LA
1988 "A Tribute to Excellence" Visual Arts Fellowship Invitational Exhibit, Masur Museum, Monroe, LA
1988 "Paper and Stone" Invitational Exhibit, Island Gallery, Vero Beach, FL
1987 "Southern Abstraction," Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA. Curated by Peter Frank.
1986 "Major Louisiana Artists," Galerie Melancon, Lake Charles, LA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND ACTIVITIES

2003, 2001 Instructor, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Villlage, CO
2003, 2002 Instructor, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO
2000, 2002, 2004 Judge- New Olreans Museum of Art Student Art Competition
1998 Co-Founder, KID smART, nonprofit organization, New Orleans, LA
1999 Board Member, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
1998 Artist Teacher, Vermont College of Art, Montpelier, VT
1998 Board Member, Entergy Arts Business Center, New Orleans, LA
2000, 1997 Grants Review Panel Member, Arts Council of New Orleans
1997 Guest Panelist - "The Creative Process" Delgado College, New Orleans, LA
1994 - 2000, Member Visual Arts Visiting Committee, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
1992, 1988 Juror, 1% for Art, Public Arts Program, New Orleans, LA
1992 Guest Panelist, "Creativity and Rejection" Symposium, presented by the New Orleans
Arts Council and New Orleans Association for Mental Health Professionals.
1991 Vice President of Arts Policy Committee, Contemporary Arts Center
1989 - 1993 Board Member, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
1988 - 2000 Instructor, Drawing & Painting, Academy of Fine Arts, New Orleans, LA
1991 Assistant Professor, Painting, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
1980 - 1990 Instructor, Drawing, Metro College, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
1982, 1985 Instructor, Painting, Delgado Community College, New Orleans, LA

PUBLICATIONS

Louisiana Faces, Jason Berry and Philip Gould, 2000
Southern Accents, January ˆ February, 2000
New American Paintings, June, 1998
The Intimate A genda: Inside the Creative Process, Barbara Seidel, 1996
Louisiana Life, Spring, 1997, p. 36
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Quarterly, Spring, 1998, pp 66 - 73
Gambit Weekly, November 19, 1996, p 49
New Orleans Art Review, November - December, 1996, pp 3-7
New Orleans Times Picayune, September 13, 1996
New Orleans Art Review, March - April, 1996, p 15
New Orleans Art Review, November - December, 1995, pp27 - 29
Southern Accents, June, 1989, p 124
Art News, November, 1987, p 222

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Art in Embassies Program, U.S. Department of State
Alabama Power Co. Montgomery, AL
Alston and Bird, LLC, Atlanta, GA
American Capital, Miami, FL
Ameriswiss Association, Miami, FL
ARCO, Lafayette, LA
Aristar Corporation, Miami, FL
Arts Council of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Barkin Leeds LTD, Atlanta, GA
Bloomingdales, Miami, FL
Charles Schwab, Atlanta, GA
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
Commonwealth Savings and Loan, Coral Gables, FL
Covington and Burling, LLC, Washington, D.C.
Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, France
First City Bank of Houston, Houston, TX
First Bank and Trust, New Orleans, LA
Four Seasons Hotel, Scottsdale, AZ
Freeport McMoRan, New Orleans, LA
HealthSouth Inc., Birmingham, AL
Hewlett Packard, Sun Valley, ID
Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, LA
Home Depot Corporation, Miami, FL
Hotel Intercontinental, New Orleans, LA
Hunter Museum, Chattanooga, TN
Hyatt International Hotels, Baltimore, MD
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington, D.C.
Iberia Bank, Lafayette, LA
Independent Bank, Memphis, TN
Joseph Canizaro Interests, New Orleans, LA
The Kullman Firm, Memphis, TN
Lafayette Surgery Specialty Hospital, Lafayette, LA
Le Saint Seran Resort, Mauritius, South Africa
Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
Mandarin Hotel, Miami, FL
Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
Miami Children's Hospital, Miami, FL
Mohegan Sun Corporation, Atlanta, GA
Monroe and Lemann, New Orleans, LA
Morgan Keegan Inc. Memphis TN
MCI Communications, Miami, FL
New Orleans Children's Hospital
New Orleans Museum of Art
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Pan American Life Insurance, New Orleans, LA
Pensacola Junior College, Pensacola, FL
Pfizer Corporation, New York, NY
Poag Asset Management Company, Greensboro, NC
Price Waterhouse Corp., New Orleans, LA
Regent Corporation, Naples, FL
Renaissance Arts Hotel, New Orleans, LA
Roger Ogden Collection, New Orleans, LA
Saks Fifth Avenue, Bal Harbor, FL
Sheraton Hotel ITT, Boston, MA
Sheraton Hotel ITT, New Orleans, LA
Southern Bell Telephone, Miami, FL
SP Holdings, Renton, WA
Stone, Pigman, Walther, Wittman LLC New Orleans, LA
Sun Bank of Florida, Miami, FL
Transcapital Corporation, Miami, FL
Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA
Texaco Inc., New Orleans, LA
Waverly Hotel, Atlanta, GA
Werner Corporation, Miami, FL
Westin Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA