Interview with Megan Elizabeth Read
“At the most basic level, the tensions, contradictions, and complexities of simply existing here, now, often seem too big, too dissonant, and too dreamlike for me to grasp and my attempts to paint them are my way to find an order in things and often lead to these aspirational portraits of multiple selves - subjective snapshots, reflecting the inside out.”
Q&A
How has 2020 events affected your work?
It seems strange to say but I can't say that it really has impacted it all that much in that my work has always been fairly introspective and dealt with the concept of isolation, which suddenly feels awfully apropos. The one thing that I have incorporated into some recent work is a different approach to reflecting relationship with time since that is one aspect of life that seems to have stretched and contracted in strange ways this year. Because of this I called my solo show in September "Fast and Slow".
How true are you to your artist statement?
My work is consistently an attempt to understand myself better and get a better grasp on my experience, to tangibly reflect it in some way, so in that sense I feel that it is fairly true to my statement though I will say that my statement has evolved over the last few years.
Explain your process.
At the moment it really depends on the size and content of the piece. Other than the odd charcoal drawing these days I am always working in oil and most often on linen. On larger pieces I tend to do some sort of grisaille and work a bit more in layers. On smaller pieces I have begun working very directly with just bits of glazing and adjustments here and there. I tend to work incredibly long days when I am painting because I avoid using mediums as much as possible and in order to create the smooth transitions and the sense of solidity that are my goal it is important that many things be done in one sitting.
What turns has your art career taken?
I began painting while still working in the design and tech field as a way to process my feelings and because I remembered as a child that creating art was the time I felt most like myself but at the time it didn't even occur to me that being an artist was an option in terms of a career. It was just something I wanted to do to become a happier person. I cannot put into words what a surprise the last few years have been.
Bio Highlights
2020 Solo and Group Shows
2020 WOMAN, James Baird Gallery, Newfoundland, Canada.
2020 5x5 Project, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO. USA.
2020 Painting the Figure Now, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL. USA.
2020 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY. USA.
2020 Fast and Slow, Solo Exhibition, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO. USA.
2020 15th Annual IGOR Juried Exhibition, Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC. USA.
2020 Allied Artists 107th Annual Juried Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY. USA. *
2020 Art Renewal Center Salon, Sotheby’s, New York, NY. USA. *
2020 American Women Artists Juried Online Show, USA. (Online)
2020 The Creator and The Muse, 33 Contemporary, Chicago, IL. USA. *
2020 The Razor’s Edge, 33 Contemporary, Chicago, IL. USA. (Online)
2020 Woman Artists Group Exhibition, Dacia Gallery, New York, NY. USA. *
2020 Figuratively Speaking, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY. USA.
2020 New City Arts and Haven Art Auction, Commonhouse, Charlottesville, VA. USA.
Collections
The Bennett Collection of Women Realists®
Menendez Family Art Collection
Private Collections
Affiliations
McGuffey Art Center
PoetsArtists
International Guild of Realism
American Women Artists
