MARY ZERAN

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    • Abstract Paintings
    • Abstract Landscape Paintings
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    • Ceramics - 2022
  • EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS
    • Exhibitions
    • Corporate and Residential Installations
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  • ABOUT
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  • home
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Abstract Paintings
    • Abstract Landscape Paintings
    • Square Works on Paper
    • Vertical Works on Paper
    • Ceramics - 2022
  • EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS
    • Exhibitions
    • Corporate and Residential Installations
  • Press
  • Publications
  • ABOUT
  • CV
  • Contact
Picture
The Unknown Gift, 2022, acrylic, Dura Lar on cradled panel, 48x48x2 inches

EXHIBITIONS

2022- 2023 The Ancient Healing Properties of Clay, Paper, Plastic, and Wood, Solo Show
November 21, 2022 - February 11, 2023
Reception: Friday, 
December 2nd, 5:00-7:30PM.
Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA


2022- Mapping of the Intangible, Group Show
October 6th–October 29th  
Reception: Thursday, October 6th, 5:30-7:00PM with Juror remarks at 6pm
Iowa Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, IA

Statement

Picture
Are We Laughing Yet?, 2021, acrylic Dura Lar on cradled panel, 48x36x2 inches, photo credit: Mark A. Tade
​I create places of happiness. Landscapes full of delicious color, long expanses, odd quirky shapes, and patterns suggesting the unknown. 

I paint on transparent polyester filming laid on an uneven work table. This  allows the paint to slip and shift creating  slurries of bold color. These slurries create lines and wave patterns.  By cutting along lines, I'm able to identify shapes that become  elements in collage. All these pieces come together to create a story.

​Life is heartbreaking. My spontaneous way of working mimics the full spectrum of human experiences. My intention is to reshape those encounters into spaces of absurdity and exuberance Not linear moments, but an abstracted experience you can’t quite define.

BIO

Picture
photo credit: Lauren Tucci
Mary Zeran grew up in a family of women artists. Textiles, embroidery, and woodcarving, were their visual language. Abstracted shapes and forms were their words.  Each time Zeran picks up a brush or scissors, she immerses herself in the language of her family. As she abstracts flowers, trees, and all the colors of nature, she speaks her mother tongue. This language brings her closer to her family’s traditions, histories, and stories.  

Zeran’s collage work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad including Cedar Rapids Museum of Art; SOIL Gallery in Seattle; and Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In addition, her work is in several public and private collections as well as many corporate collections; including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art; U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids; Grafix Corporation, Cleveland; and United Fire Group, Los Angeles.

Ms. Zeran is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. She received an Oregon College of Arts and Crafts Residency, and a 2% for the Arts Purchase Prize from the Visual Arts Commission in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mary Zeran was born in Iowa City, Iowa in 1964. She received her B.F.A and M.F.A from University of Iowa in Metalworking under Chunghi Choo. She lives and works in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

MORE ART AND ART NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

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Mary Zeran
539 Forest Dr. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403
(319)893-0043
​maryzeran@maryzeran.com


 2010-2023 © Mary Zeran all rights reserved/ all photos by Mary Zeran unless noted ​

Mary Zeran is dedicated to making her website accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities. I am currently in the process of making sure the website, http://www.maryzeran.com, is compliant with best practices and standards as defined by Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and Level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities. Following these guidelines will help make the web more user-friendly for all people.