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
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
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.
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
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.
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.