Angela Devenney•Visual Art

First Friday Portland at Mayo Street Arts

2010-11-03T21:17:00.008-04:00

Come check out las alas (the winged ones) for First Friday at Mayo Street Arts in Portland.

Angela Devenney, Gil Corral, Hogfarm Studios: new paintings by gil corral, dia de los muertos altar installation by hogfarm studios & insect assemblages by angela devenney.

opening: Friday, November 5th, 5-8pm las alas runs through November & December.

Directions to 10 Mayo Street: From 295, take exit 7 to Franklin Arterial. Go left on Cumberland Ave, take third left onto Mayo Street. Ample parking on Mayo, Oxford, and Boyd Streets.

CMCA Student Exhibition

2010-04-30T10:42:00.006-04:00

Join us tomorrow, Saturday, May 1st, for an opening of student work at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport. My children from the Riley School will be exhibiting a variety of photography, including black and white silver prints, pinholes and photograms, accompanied by a wonderful sampling of digital imagery. Below is a sneak peek at some of the Riley kids' photography.

The Student Exhibition is the season opener for CMCA and will be on view until May 9th. Painting, wood sculpture and pottery from Riley will also be on view.

The opening is from 3-5 p.m. Hope to see you there!

CMCA

162 Russell Avenue, Rockport, Maine 04856

Phone: 207.236.2875

Email: info@cmcanow.org

100 Birds for Haiti • Art for Health Care

2010-03-27T11:59:00.009-04:00

Yesterday my husband and I ventured out to see the 100 Birds for Haiti exhibit at Heartwood College of Art, in the aptly named gallery, pictured below. I've long created artwork and imagery that incorporates birds. I am fascinated by their varied appearances, behaviors, abilities and symbolism. My parents have always been curious and knowledgeable about birds. I absorbed a bit of their interest throughout my childhood and teenage years, but my curiosity in the species as a whole peaked during my junior year of college, when a hawk landed on my fire escape and caught a sparrow for breakfast. I remember feeling like I was watching a Nat Geo special, but the whole event took place just a few blocks away from Fenway Park. I have uploaded my pieces included in 100 Birds for Haiti throughout this post.

100 Birds is an exhibition of small bird images (and some tiny ceramic sculptures too), of which 35% of sales will be donated to the Konbit Sante organization, a partnership to save lives and improve health in northern Haiti. Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation organized in the State of Maine in 2000.

Transcendence: Sparrow Profile / Digital Pigment print made from a 4x5 film photogram

Konbit Sante's Mission (excerpted from their website): "To support the development of a sustainable health care system to meet the needs of the Cap-Haitien community with maximum local direction and support."

About their name: "In Haitian Creole, a konbit is a traditional Haitian method of working together to till your friends' fields as well as your own - a cooperative effort. Sante means health. So the name means working together for health. We have chosen a Creole name to show our respect for and friendship with the people of Haiti and the dedicated local professionals who serve them."

En Route / color photogram, Winter Starlings and Little Blue Angels / scan-o-gram

January Memory II (Sparrow Wing), Photogram

100 Birds for Haiti runs from March 24-April 29, 2010.

Heartwood College of Art / 123 York Street (Rt 1 south) / Kennebunk, ME /985-0985

hca2@HeartwoodCollegeofArt.org

Lyme Disease: Art & Awareness

2010-03-08T20:30:00.007-05:00

My sister, Nina's statement about her work - which has been quoted in several local publications describing the opening of the show Group of Four - explains the origins of her brightly colored, soft, fabric sculptures, pictured below.

About her latest body of work, Nina Devenney, the youngest of the "four," said that after being diagnosed with Lyme disease at the start of 2009, she experienced a slow healing process for the duration of the year that led her to thoughts concerning health and the mysterious connections that link the human body to the external natural world that we inhabit and call home.

"I began to think of my body as a habitat, a home all on its own. I found it ironic and beautiful that the internal place I live is filled with elegance that mimics my external environment. I realized the composition of my very self is a sheer reflection of the beauty I see outside," she said.

Nina’s work is visually curious, fun, and playful. Ironically, this work was a fusion of experiences caused by illness and ailments of Lyme disease. Below is her artist's statement.

Artist Statement • Habitat

This body of work is a reflection and a positive distortion of a recent experience of illness and desperation. Diagnosed with Lyme disease at the start of 2009, I experienced a slow healing process for the duration of the year that lead me to thoughts concerning health and the mysterious connections that link the human body to the external natural world that we inhabit and call home. Throughout my illness, I began to think of my body as a habitat, a home all on its own. I found it ironic and beautiful that the internal place I live is filled with elegance that mimics my external environment. I realized the composition of my very self is a sheer reflection of the beauty I see outside.

This piece is the result of a desire to create a habitat for humans to exist in: a world that is comprised of forms inspired by organs, nerves and skeletal structures residing inside us and our fellow species, along with forms that make up our external natural home, such as eroded rock, prehistoric fossils, seaweed and driftwood.

Through these soft sculptures, I aim to blur the lines of physical places, making it seem that our bodies are our habitat, as much as the earth is. My intention is for the installation to feel exciting, beautiful and safe. After my tiresome, painful, and threatening experience with Lyme disease, that often left me feeling unsafe within my own body, I wanted to create an environment relating to the body that feels secure and protected. By using soft fabric, fiberfill and warm, inviting colors, I hope to activate this effect and make viewers feel intrigued, safe and happy while they explore this colorful and abstract network.

Lyme disease is a rapidly growing health epidemic. The condition is a serious and frustrating health concern for those who are afflicted.

Below you will find helpful & informative links regarding symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Lyme Disease.

Help prevent tick bites by using Permethrin, manufactured by Sawyer Company. It is an insecticide spray for clothing (it is toxic to pets, birds and fish through contact and ingestion so read instructions carefully). Permethrin products are available from such retailers as Chinook Medical, Cabelas, REI and Amazon.com. Ultrathon repellant, a 12 hour time-release DEET lotion, is also available at Chinook Medical. For safe and effective tick removal, try the Tick Key available at pet stores, hardware stores and outdoor retailers. Check your pets and yourself regularly!

Tick Identification Chart

California Lyme Disease Association

Political & Medical Issues Surrounding Lyme

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society

Lyme Disease Association

Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation

Lyme Disease Network

A Maryland Doctor's Lyme Blog

Watch the trailer for the film, Under Our Skin which explores the hidden tales of Lyme.

Author, Amy Tan's Lyme Site

Igenex Lab, a Reference Lab specializing Clinical and Research Testing for Lyme & Tick-borne Diseases

A Group of Four

2010-02-27T11:44:00.006-05:00

A Group of Four will showcase work created by my family! I can't wait to see how the work plays off each other in a gallery setting. Much of our art hangs together on the walls of my parents' home, but the task of decisively choosing work to show together to create a cohesive look in a gallery sounded a tad challenging. As we worked together selecting pieces that would compliment each other in a gallery setting, it became apparent we all artistically see and think a lot more like one another than we ever realized! Charlotte Davenhill, Tidemark Gallery owner, clarifies this point best in the press release:

" Joe, Mary, and daughters Angela and Nina seem to share the special ability of seeing things that others overlook. Working within their respective mediums, the Devenneys strip away the obvious to expose the unseen -- creating thought provoking works of intensity, movement, shapes and wonder."

Media exhibited will include paintings by my mother Mary, photographs by my father Joe (who also designed our wonderful announcement card), printmaking and sculpture by my sister Nina, and prints of my photo-based work.

A Group of Four runs from {03.03.10 through 03.27.10}

Please join us for the reception on Saturday, March 13 from 5 to 7 pm.

Tidemark Gallery is located at 902 Main Street / Waldoboro, ME

Tel. 832-5109, email: info@tidemarkgallery.com

black and white

2010-02-23T20:25:00.013-05:00

My photograph, Winter, will be shown in the exhibit black and white at River Arts. Starlings love to congregate in this tree near our yard. I've paid more attention to them this season, as they are exposed by the lack of foliage this time of year. Starlings are a gregarious species, so this was a unique, tranquil moment for the tree, any listeners, and the two birds.

My sister, Nina Devenney, will also have a piece shown in this exhibit. Under the Dress, {above} is a photopolymer gravure print, in which she combined the use of Photoshop, plate development in the darkroom, and the final step of inking plates to run through a printing press. I have a love for all three processes, but have never used them all in conjunction with each other and can only imagine {and admire!} the precision and time involved.

Black and white opens this Friday, {02.26.10 / 5-7pm} and runs through {04.02.10}. Art critic, curator and art dealer Daniel Kany is the exhibit’s Juror. Kany will be giving a gallery talk and discussion on Saturday {03.14.10 / 3-4:30pm}.

River arts is located at: 170 Main Street / Damariscotta, Maine / 207.563.1507

Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 – 4 & Sunday 12 – 4

'Spineless Wonders, Inspiring Invertebrates' Closes out 2009

2009-12-07T19:34:00.012-05:00

The Spineless Wonders exhibit, curated by Robyn Holman and displayed at USM'S Atrium Gallery, was a wonderful show to close out 2009. Full of my some of my favorite subjects - invertebrates- "Spineless Wonders: Invertebrates as Inspiration celebrates the diversity of species for the 2009 bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species. Invertebrates make up a vast group that includes worms, insects and their larvae, spiders, jellyfish, shellfish such as crabs and shrimp, squid, and more – 97% of all animal species are invertebrates. Paintings, prints, sculpture, poetry, video, and work in clay, metal, fiber, glass, wood, and stone by 56 artists from around the country are all part of this multi-dimensional exploration of the invertebrate world."

To view Daniel Kany's review from the Portland Press Herald Maine Sunday Telegram, click here.

Just Look At Yourself! Opens tonight at CMCA

2009-08-07T09:03:00.004-04:00

Just Look at Yourself!, a group exhibition exploring self-portraiture with a focus on

un-conventional definitions of this genre, opens tonight at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

Eclipse (at far right below), from my series Saliva Self Portraits, is included in this exhibit. These images were created by magnifying (you guessed it) spit. I was astonished by how beautiful the patterns within the micro-view were, and amazed by the perfectly shaped circles in my saliva. You can read more about these pieces here.

Horizon Approach / Perfect Circles / Eclipse

CMCA is located at 162 Russell Avenue in Rockport, ME.

Join us at the opening this evening, August 7, from 5-7pm.

Just Look at Yourself! runs through October 3, 2009.

What The Boston Globe Thinks about Our Bugs

2009-06-25T11:05:00.004-04:00

Transformation Vessels (Cocoons)

Last week, (06.17.09), the Globe reviewed WOWbug and Other Micro-Natures, currently on exhibit at Khaki Gallery. Here's what they had to say about our work:

Boston Globe Review

Tiny, striking patterns

"WOWbug & Other Micro-Natures" is a fun, eye-popping, up-close examination of tiny critters at Khaki Gallery. The artists Angela Devenney and Jennifer Formica (whose last name, aptly, is the Latin word for ant) use scanners to magnify images of insects, among other things.

For "Moth Wings Study #6," Formica laid a heap of wings on the scanner. The result is a composition of dramatic, swooping lines, often with feathery fringes, glorious tones, and absorbing patterns. Something about her "Drosophila," a glowing blur of a fly with wings folded in and head tucked, looks eerily like a fetal ultrasound. "Lily Ovulary Megasporocyte" shows a single cell blown up against a black ground in a spectacle of yellow and green, blotted with electric purples.

Devenney makes little assemblages and scans them. Her assortments of strings and bugs come across as too precious, but when she sticks to one material, as in "Flies: Passion," a star form made of a small army of flies, the result is all at once formally precise, creepy, and funny.

www.angeladevenney.com

2009-06-17T17:29:00.003-04:00

I’m so happy to finally have my website up and running. A HUGE thanks to web designer Matt Fulton for making it happen! Matt is wonderful to work with – he knows his stuff and is full of helpful suggestions. With only a few thoughts on what I had in mind, Matt took designing into his own hands and I’m so pleased with what he created! Thanks Matt!

WOWbug Opening

2009-06-17T14:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all that ventured out on First Friday, despite the drizzle, to join us the WOWbug & Other Micro-Natures opening at Khaki Gallery. As you can see from the photo, the A-frame was expecting weather and wore its raincoat.

Below are a couple of images of my work installed at the gallery. Currently, you can view additional pictures of the show on Khaki's home page.

Bugs!

2009-05-18T11:28:00.000-04:00

Come join us on First Friday for the opening of WOWbug & Other Micro-Natures at Khaki Gallery on June 5, from 6-8 p.m. My conceptual insect work will be shown together with the microscopic images of Jennifer Formica.

Pieces from this body of my work are constructed from found organic materials collected in my wanderings. Just as insects change states throughout their lives, I continue their transformation by constructing patterns or scenes that captivate through the juxtaposition of disgust and delight.

Come enjoy the bugs (unlike the black flies that are just arriving for the season in Maine) at Khaki Gallery, located at 460 Harrison Avenue in the SOWA arts district (South of Washington Street) of Boston.