Cathy Weber  Cathy Weber grew up in the Midwestern U.S., studied at the Herron School of Art  and Indiana University, and later completed a formal painting apprenticeship in Mexico City. In 1981 she moved to Dillon, Montana, where she maintains a studio in the historic downtown. Though Weber executes the bulk of her work in oil, she is skilled at working in a variety of media.  She works from an ever-increasing sense of urgency to make things of beauty in response to war, injustice, greed and violence.  Making images of common simple objects gives her comfort and hope for weathering the human condition.

 

Artist’s Statement

I am a visual artist living and working in Dillon, Montana. I am a gardener, carpenter, cyclist, skier, feminist, civil libertarian and mom; but am most steadily compelled in my daily life by a need to make visual manifestations of my view of the world. In that context, much of my work is done in the service of beauty.

 

I love the possibilities inherent in every item among the tools and supplies in my studio.  Paper, paint, pencils, board, glue, ink, thread and  fabric are all pregnant with the potential to express or inform a visual or conceptual notion.

I can’t recall ever being without several ideas begging to be pursued.  There is always an object I would like to explore by painting, a story that bears telling or a technique whose  manipulation might yield something that interests me.

 

An exploration of book arts, for example, has led me to the discovery of the luminosity of watercolors on skin parchment.  It has fascinated me with the secrets hidden between the bindings of artist’s books and the tools of that trade have suggested endless structural possibilities. Playing around with elements from books led, quite naturally, to an interest in old maps.  That gets me thinking about the notion of a visual mapping of human emotional experience… there is no end in sight.

I am of the opinion that the details of an artist’s personal life and experience are relevant only in so far as they are clearly communicated through her work. Even then, that  communication is most powerful when the artist’s expression speaks to the human condition of the viewer in a way that elicits a personal emotional response. I hope to translate my own experience and world view into a series of images in which the viewers can recognize and honor themselves. 

Resume    

Education
1969-1974  Studied life drawing at Herron School of Art youth classes, Indianapolis, IN 1974 Graduated Shortridge High School, Indianapolis, IN

1976 Majored in Fine Art at Indiana University, Bloomington

1976 Esquela National De Artes Plasticas (National School of Fine Arts) of the National University of Mexico, Mexico City

1977-79 Studied with Gilberto Aceves Navarro as an apprentice in his studio in  Mexico City

1980 Attended course for art educators taught by Judy Chicago at the New York Feminist Art Institute

1992-96 Took courses in Printmaking, Ceramics, Silver Smithing, and Glass Blowing at Western Montana College of the University of Montana

 

Exhibitions 2011

2011 “Narrative Possibilities,” Willard Arts Center, Idaho Falls, Idaho

2010 ”Poetry of biology,” Artworks Gallery, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT

2008 Whooping Crones Gallery, featured artist, Missoula, MT

2007 A.L. Swanson Fine Art, featured artist, Helena, MT

2005 “Allegory, Icon and Metaphor”, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT

2004 Artworks Gallery featured artist, Bozeman, Montana

2004 TinMan Gallery featured artist, Spokane, Washington

2003/4   The American West, A 21st century perspective at: Cavan County Museum, Ballyjamesduff, Ireland The Hunt Museum, Limerick, Ireland Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland

2003 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

2002 Grief Series, Willard Arts Center, Idaho Falls, Idaho

2002 Grief Series, Arts Chateau, Butte MT

2002 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

2002 Grief Series, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT

2002 Grief Series, Northcutt Steele Gallery, MT St University-Billings

2001 Grief Series, Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell, MT

2001 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

2001 Grief Series, Art Museum of Missoula, Missoula, MT

1998 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

1994 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

1992 Sutton West Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

1991 Holy Card Series, Nicolaysen Museum, Casper, WY

1991 Holy Card Series, Lewistown Art Center, Lewistown, MT

1991 Daisy Patch Gallery, Casper, WY

1990 Northcutt Gallery, Eastern Montana College, Billings, MT

1990 University Center Gallery, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

1998 Clark Fork Gallery featured artist, Missoula, MT

1986 Columbus Women’s Art Space, Columbus, OH

1986 Black Orchid Gallery, Butte, MT

1983 Calico’s, Columbus, OH1982 Hainle Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

1982 Western Montana College, Dillon, MT

1982 CASHEL Center for Psychology and the Arts, Lake Worth, FL

1981 Two Sisters Studio, Lake Worth, FL

1979 Instituto Mexicano NorteAmericano de Relaciones Culturales (Mexican-North American Cultural Institute) Mexico City, Mexico

Institutional Collections

NicolaysenMuseum, Casper, WYUniversity of Montana,Western, Dillon, MT

Art Museum of Missoula, Missoula, MT

Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT

Awards

2011 Honorable mention, annual juried show,Willard Arts Center, Idaho Falls, Idaho

1999 Athena Award in recognition of Activist Women Artists, from the women’s committee of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

1989 Honorable mention, Montana Institute of Arts, Montana Interpretations

1988 Third place, Soroptimist juried show, Dillon, MT

1986 Audience Choice, Best of Show, Montana Women’s Art Show, Butte, MT

1985 Honorable mention, Montana Institute of Arts, juried show

1983 Second place, Soroptimist juried show, Dillon, MT

1973 Awarded prize for best art work in student publications by the Columbia Press Project, Indianapolis, IN

1972 Created design which was chosen to be the national holiday greeting card of the Girl Scouts of America