The Everglades

Georgia O’Keefe once said God told her that if she painted the mountain behind her house in New Mexico enough times, she would own it. I don’t think I own the Everglades, but the Everglades certainly own a part of me.

I was privileged to be invited by the National Park Service to live in the Everglades as a participant in its Artists in Residence Program. In spite of the fact that this is my third exhibition with the Everglades as a subject, I was unprepared for the power of the experience. Initially, the possibility of an encounter with alligators, snakes, scorpions and panthers was frightening. As the time for my adventure drew near, it was the reality of living alone in the wilderness (with the exception of the park Rangers with whom I “slogged” through the swamps,) that was truly terrifying. My fears were unfounded. I found the solitude heightened my awareness and intensified my connection to the intricate ecosystems surrounding me.

Nature’s ability to heal and adapt proved inspirational. The contrast between energetic growth and overt decay serves up a multitude of images that illustrate the cyclical relation between life and death. The “Nurse Log” paintings are a literal portrayal of this - decomposing fallen trees feeding a new generation of plants. Over the course of my stay, the sloughs, domes, mangroves, pine forests and strands became my Walden Pond.

Art can be a powerful statement for anything. My hope is that these paintings, which depict details selected from a vast wilderness, trigger a connection with the Everglades – an ecosystem that although altered and threatened, is still magically dynamic.

The Everglades

Georgia O’Keefe once said God told her that if she painted the mountain behind her house in New Mexico enough times, she would own it. I don’t think I own the Everglades, but the Everglades certainly own a part of me.

I was privileged to be invited by the National Park Service to live in the Everglades as a participant in its Artists in Residence Program. In spite of the fact that this is my third exhibition with the Everglades as a subject, I was unprepared for the power of the experience. Initially, the possibility of an encounter with alligators, snakes, scorpions and panthers was frightening. As the time for my adventure drew near, it was the reality of living alone in the wilderness (with the exception of the park Rangers with whom I “slogged” through the swamps,) that was truly terrifying. My fears were unfounded. I found the solitude heightened my awareness and intensified my connection to the intricate ecosystems surrounding me.

Nature’s ability to heal and adapt proved inspirational. The contrast between energetic growth and overt decay serves up a multitude of images that illustrate the cyclical relation between life and death. The “Nurse Log” paintings are a literal portrayal of this - decomposing fallen trees feeding a new generation of plants. Over the course of my stay, the sloughs, domes, mangroves, pine forests and strands became my Walden Pond.

Art can be a powerful statement for anything. My hope is that these paintings, which depict details selected from a vast wilderness, trigger a connection with the Everglades – an ecosystem that although altered and threatened, is still magically dynamic.

Murals etcetcetc

Elizabeth Abrams Thompson



Education
1971-75   Mount Holyoke College, Bachelor of Arts Degree,
    Magna Cum Laude, Massachusetts
1971-76   École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris
1975-77   Pratt Institute, Master of Fine Arts, New York

Solo Exhibitions
1974   Mount Holyoke College Museum, Massachusetts
1977   Pratt Institute Gallery, New York
1978   Galerie Les Arts Plastiques Modernes, Paris
1979   Plan Gallery, Knokke-Le-Zoute, Belgium
1983   Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York
1989   Galeria Lavignes-Bastile, Paris; Albemarle Gallery, London
1990   Barbara Gilman Gallery, Miami, Florida
1993   John Harms Center, Englewood, New Jersey
1996   Art Miami, Miami, Florida
    Adamar Fine Arts, Miami, Florida
    Caesarea Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida
2001   Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, New York
    Sommerhill Gallery, Durham, North Carolina
2004   Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, New York
2006   Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York

Group Exhibitions
1981   Six at Mount Holyoke College Museum, Massachusetts
1982   “Selected 20th Century American Painting & Sculpture,”
    Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York
    “Collectors Gallery 16,” McKay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
1983 “Selected 20th Century American Painting & Sculpture,”
    Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York
1988   “New York - New Works,” Helande Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
1990   “Pools”, Modus Vivendi Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
    “Pools”, Art Moderne Gallery, Moscow, Russia
    “Pools”, Norton Museum, West Palm Beach, Florida
1991   “Nuptuals”, Helander Gallery, New York
    “Pools”, Stuart Levy Gallery, New York
    “Pools”, Stuart Levy and Helander Galleries, New York City
1992   Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, Florida
    “Pools”, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado
1996   Art Miami, Miami, Florida
    Adamar Fine Arts, Miami, Florida
    Caesarea Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida
2005   Art Miami, Miami, Florida
    Adamar Fine Arts, Miami, Florida
2008   Scope Art Fair Miami, Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York

Awards and Honors
1974   Janet F. Brooks Memorial Prize in Painting
1975   Phi Betta Kappa Award
1976-77   Skinner Foundation Fellowship
1977-78   Rotary Foundation Fellowship
1979-81   Artist in Residence, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1984-86   Artist in Residence, PS 1, Queens, New York
2006   Artist in Residence, Everglades National Park, Florida

Commissions
1975   Mural Commission for Village in the Park, Chicago, Illinois;
    Hotel, Stamford, Connecticut
1976   Conversion of 135 oil storage tanks into a work of art.
    300,000 square feet on the bank of the Hudson River,
    Commissioned by Belfer Associates and Prudential Insurance Company
1977   Mural Commission for the Rosalie Clinic, Aubervilliers
1981   Mural Commission for the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire Charlton Park,
    Malmesbury, England
1983   Mural Commission for the Wilmington Trust Company,
    Wilmington, Delaware
1984   Mural Commission for Southwestern Bell Telephone, Dallas, Texas
1985   Triptych for Lincoln Properties, Dallas, Texas
1986   Two murals commissioned for the Club Corporation of America,
    Dallas, Texas
1989   Mural Commission for Robert Wood Johnson IV,
    Rockefeller Center, New York
1990   Mural Commission for the Association to Benefit Children, New York
    Mural Commission for Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wolfe, New York
1991   Mural Commission for Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wood Johnson IV
    for "The Farm", Lammington, New Jersey
1993   Mural Commission for El Grupo Financiero Asemex Banpais,
    Mexico City
1994   Second Mural Commission for El Grupo Financiero Asemex Banpais,
    Mexico City
1995   Mural Commission for the Delaware Water Authority,
    Delaware Memorial Bridge
1996   Mural aboard Ferry Boat for the Delaware Water Authority Mural on
    façade of five-story building for the Association To Benefit Children
1997   Mural Commission for Marriott Shanghai Tang Emporium
    First National Bank of Florida
1998   Mural Commission for New York University Hospital, New York
2000   Mural Commission for the Board Room of Metropolitan Life
    Insurance Company, New York
2003   Mural Commission for Mr. and Mrs. Glen Dubin, New York

Collections
McKay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Brown
Mr. Howard Gittis
Mr. Itchko Ezratti
Mrs. Francis Lloyd
Weil, Gotschal and Manges, New York City
Wells, Rich and Green, New York City
Ingram Yusek, New York City
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Hess
Mr. Harry Joe Brown
Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Stubgen
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wolfe

E@elizabeththompsonart.com
917-582-0995

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