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Bio

MaryDwyerStudio.jpg
Mary Dwyer

About The Artist

Mary Dwyer is a contemporary painter who lives and works in Connecticut. Her studio is in the historic American fabrics Building in Bridgeport where Cluny lace was once made. Her work has been exhibited at numerous museums and galleries in metropolitan New York including ODETTA Gallery, Smack Mellon, and Tiger Strikes Asteroid. In Connecticut at The New Britain Museum of American Art, Melanie Carr Gallery, The Institute Library, Artspace New Haven, and in a design show honoring Frank Lloyd Wright in London, England. She is a recipient of the Connecticut Artist fellowship Grant. Several of her paintings are in the permanent collection of The New Britain Museum of American Art.

Statement of Practice

Mary Dwyer’s work is based in history drawing and narration. The inspiration for this work revolves around current and historic events, a love of political cartoons and an interest in people that have inspired social change. An integral part of this practice is research. Spurred by an innate curiosity, she creates political and personal paintings with the general community in mind. The sizes of her paintings are medium to small, leading the viewer to move in closer for an intimate connection with the subject. Mary is interested in the themes of free press, dangerous work, everyday jobs and daydreaming at work. Currently Mary’s work has centered on her concern for the global threat to free press and the dangers journalists face in their career. Her new series of paintings ‘Last Day of Work’, features journalists that have been targeted and killed in direct relation to their job. This series of paintings are meant to inform the viewer and invite conversation. The source for The Last Day of Work paintings is the Committee to Protect Journalists data bank.  

Awards

Born

Bridgeport, Connecticut

 

Solo Exhibitions

2004 Benedict Arnold, Druggist & Bookseller, Artspace, New Haven, Conn.

 

2002 NEW/NOW, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Conn

.

         Patriot’s Weekend, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Conn

 

2000 George Washington & His Best Friends, Gallery 13, Danbury, Conn.

 

        Fourth of July, Bergdorf Goodman Window Display, 5th Avenue, New   

         York, NY

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2020  Bound up Together, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY

          Catenations, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Brooklyn, NY

          Turner’s Patent Yellow, ODETTA Gallery, New York, NY

 

2018  Shelf Life, History, Biography & Fame, Institute Library, New Haven, Conn.

          In Grace We Trust Installation, Ely Center for Contemporary Art, New Haven, Conn

          CT Contemporary, Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, Conn

 

2017  Cool + Collected, Melanie Carr Gallery, Essex Connecticut

          Nasty Women Show, The Institute Library, New Haven, Connecticut

 

2016  Votes for Women Installation, CWOS New Haven Armory

 

2015  Appropriation & Inspiration, New Britain Museum of American Art

 

2014  “Becoming…” ODETTA Gallery, Brooklyn, New York

 

2010  Women Artists @ New Britain Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art

          Figurative Distance, Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism Gallery, Hartford

 

2009   FRANK, Exhibition Inspired by the Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, Clarke & Reilly, 

           London, UK.

2006   Don’t Know Much About History, Artspace, New Haven, Conn.

 

2005  American Folk Art: Traditional and Spontaneous, New Britain Museum of American Art

 

2002  The Brewster Project, Brewster, New York

 

1999   L.T.D, Margaret Bodell Gallery, New York, New York

1998   Conviviality & Confetti: Holiday Imagery and Art, Noyes Museum of Art Gallery, N.J

1994   About Face, Real Art ways, Hartford, Connecticut

 

1993   American Gothic, Art in General, New York, New York

 

1992   Alien Art, Caged Angel Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

 

1991   Somber, Pump House Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut

 

Grants

2008   Artist Fellowship Grant, Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism

 

 

Bibliography & Publications

Art New England Magazine Studio Visit, Jacquelyn Gleisner, March/April 2020

 

Women Artists @ New Britain Museum, Sherry Buckberrough, Nancy Noble, January 2011

 

New American Paintings, Open Studio Press, Wellesley, Massachusetts, February, 1998

 

Art In General, Manual 1992 and 1993, Copyright: Art in General, New York, New York, 1992

 

 

Press & Reviews

Nancy Elsamanoudi "Water of Life" Arcade Project, Oct 10, 2020

https://www.arcadeprojectzine.com/features/water-of-life 

Katherine Gleason "On the Centennial of Women's Voting Rights, Suffragette Style Still Makes a Statement" 1st Dibs, Aug 10, 2020

https://www.1stdibs.com/blogs/the-study/suffragette-style/

Brian Slattery “Institute Library Gets 15 Minutes of Fame, New Haven Independent Oct 3,2018

 

Lucy Gellman “In Shelf Life Biographies Break Free” New Haven Arts Paper Oct 19,2018

 

Susan Dunne “Melanie Carr Gallery, Earth& Fire Gallery in Essex”, Hartford Courant, Oct.16,2017

 

Katie Killary, “Our Absolute Favorite Bushwick Art Shows Bushwick Daily, Jan.2, 2015

 

James Kalm, “Drifting Around Bushwick and the Lower East Side, Rough Cuts, Dec.16, 2015

 

Ben Genocchio, “Show Gives Art History Meaning” New York Times, Dec. 31st, 2006

 

Judy Birke, “ArtSpace Provocative Goes Beyond Any Textbook” New Haven Register, Dec.2006

 

Judy Birke, “The Familiar is Re-examined, Renewed in Disparate Shows” New Haven Register, Aug. 15th, 2004

 

Eleanor Charles, “Benedict Arnold” New York Times, (The Guide) Aug. 15th, 2004

 

L.P. Streitfeld, “The Brewster Project Wires the Zeitgeist” The Stamford Advocate, 7/2002

 Diana Bellettieri, “Art Has its Day in Brewster” The Journal News, July 28th, 2002

 

D. Dominic Lombardi, “Washington: Not the Icon, Sometimes Even a Bit Giddy” The New York Times, March 5th, 2000

 

Jude Long Schwendenwien, “Lage and Dwyer, Somber” Hartford Courant, November 10th, 1991

 

 

Collections

New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut

 

Flat File

Melanie Carr Gallery

 

Education

BFA The Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut

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