Gregory Euclide

Gregory Euclide (born 1974) is an American contemporary artist and teacher who currently lives and works outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and raised there before moving to Minnesota, his rich natural surroundings fostered an interest in and connection to the environment that lasts to this day.[1]

Education

Gregory Euclide holds an M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) in Studio Art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minnesota (2008), a B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin (University Scholar, 1997), and a B.A.E. (Bachelors of Arts in Education) in Secondary Art Education (K-12) from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin (University Scholar, 1997).[2]

Career

Gregory Euclide creates sculptural relief works, paintings, and installations. His works are evocative, non-traditional mixed media assemblages which resemble landscape paintings but defy categorization.[3] While Euclide's works explore ideas surrounding nature and the human experience, they remain void of the human figure; according to Euclide, "When you see a human figure you identify with the form, what they are doing, and that becomes the emphasis. By showing just the land without humans I'm able to show it as it is and what they've left behind."[4] Euclide juxtaposes in his work naturally occurring, organic matter with artificial, man-made materials, some of which are found objects, and through the use of bent and shaped paper introduces three-dimensional topographical elements.[5]

Gregory Euclide, Untitled (Bon Iver, Bon Iver cover art), 2011, acrylic, buckthorn root, dirt, found foam, geranium, moss, mylar, paper, pencil, photo transfer, pine cone, sedum, snow, sponge, 35 x 35 x 6 inches

Through his exploration of the landscape tradition, within both his self-contained works and largescale installations, by incorporating architectural elements Euclide reminds the viewer that though many people associate charming imagery such as barns and farm fields with nature, these structures and spaces are engineered, and even when looking at a remote pastoral scene, it is impossible to escape the human fingerprint.[6] For the exhibition Otherwordly: Artist Dioramas and Small Spectacles, which opened June 2011 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, Euclide created a room-sized installation, a consuming 7×5 foot landscape painting in a gilded gold frame with several dioramas extending across the floor of the gallery.[7] In 2009, Euclide did a large "capture" work with a 55 gallon drum taken from Clear Creek Canyon, a tourist destination near Denver, and displayed it at the David B. Smith Gallery with a life-sized guardrail representing a scenic pull-off.[8] Works by Gregory Euclide have been exhibited at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado, the Pulse Art Fair in Miami, Florida, The Joseph Gross Gallery at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as well a site-specific installation for the inauguration of the Denver Biennial of the Americas.[9][10]

In 2011, Euclide collaborated with the Justin Vernon of Bon Iver to create the band's acclaimed album artwork for their 2011 album Bon Iver, winner of the Grammy for Best New Artist.[3]

Euclide created beautiful detailed temporary ink designs on classroom dry erase boards, for relaxation during his 25 minute lunch break, while teaching high school students in the Minnesota River Valley, and then wiped them clean. He used classroom objects lying around including whiteboard erasers, paper towels, spray bottles, brushes and Japanese Sumi ink. He wanted to show his students the possible achievements that happen in a short space of time and the impermanence of existence. "In our culture, there is a strong emphasis on reproduction and the original seems less important. My students were shocked when I would erase the original, because they saw it firsthand, and they were disturbed that it was destroyed. People who do not see the original have no problem only looking at it on a screen or as a print, but once you see the original it is hard to let it go or believe that it could be destroyed." Euclide sees the concept of accepting impermanence to society’s impact on the natural world. When he casually wiped away his art creations, the students reacted with extreme dismay making Euclide decide to release a series of the temporary ephemeral artworks.[11][12]

"Laid Down & Wiped Away - a special edition of ten portfolios chronicling Mr Euclide’s experiments on his classroom whiteboard", will be available from July 10.[13][14]

Collections

Gregory Euclides work is featured in the collections of the Progressive Corporation (Mayfield Village, Ohio), Flint Institute of Arts (Flint, Michigan), Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Washington), United States Embassy in Sarajevo, Wellington Management Company (Boston, Massachusetts), Dex Media (Denver, Colorado), Nordstrom (Seattle, Washington), and Health Partners (Minneapolis, Minnesota).[15]

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Selected group exhibitions

2011

2010

2009

Juror: Lynne Warren, Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Juror: Ian Berry, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College

2008

Juror: Kris Douglas, Chief Curator at the Rochester Art Center
Juror: Michael Klein, Former Director of the International Sculpture Center and the Microsoft Collection
Juror: Carl Belz, Director Emeritus, The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University
Juror: John Corbett, Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery
Juror: Yasmil Raymond, Assistant Curator, Walker Art Center
Juror: Yasmil Raymond, Assistant Curator, Walker Art Center
Juror: Elizabeth Dove, Associate Professor The Department of Art The University of Montana

See also

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Kristen (2010). "Capturing Nature". Hi Fructose Magazine 14: 44–49.
  2. ↑ "Gregory Euclide". Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Owen, Sarah (4 March 2011). "Terra Incognita: Gregory Euclide". T Magazine. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Goebel, Leanne Haase (March–April 2010). "Artist Profile: Gregory Euclide". Art Ltd. Magazine (Special Eco Issue): 52.
  5. ↑ MacMillan, Kyle (December 2011). "Reviews: Gregory Euclide". ARTnews: 112.
  6. ↑ Goebel, Leanne Haase (March–April 2010). "Artist Profile: Gregory Euclide". Art Ltd. Magazine (Special Eco Issue).
  7. ↑ "Gregory Euclide for Otherworldly". Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  8. ↑ Goebel, Leanne Haase (March–April 2010). "Artist Profile: Gregory Euclide". Art Ltd. Magazine (Special Eco Issue).
  9. ↑ "Gregory Euclide". Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "Gregory Euclide". Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  11. ↑ http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/07/new-temporary-whiteboard-drawings-by-gregory-euclide/
  12. ↑ http://gma.yahoo.com/photos/teacher-creates-stunning-whiteboard-art-slideshow/laid-down-wiped-away-photo-1341369046.html
  13. ↑ http://www.gregoryeuclideprints.com/Laid_Down_&_Wiped_Away.html
  14. ↑ http://www.davidbsmithgallery.com/store/
  15. ↑ "Gregory Euclide". Retrieved 23 April 2011.

External links