Allison Freeman Work | Artist Statement & CV | Return to Artist List
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Artist Statement
Two years ago, I began writing with my left hand. In my paintings of abstracted documents I use my left hand to paint, forcing me to abandon the established habits and control of my right hand. I make marks that are manual and direct yet they look alien to their own maker. The marks appear as someone else’s writing. Through these works I enact paradox and self-negation. The lines resemble words, but cannot be read. This illegible writing is then crossed out, circled, highlighted and annotated. I aim to demonstrate that documents hold meaning in their visual forms, even without containing legible text. Geometric shapes and calligraphic gestures combine to create an interplay of painting, writing, image and document. The works, many of which are painted on slate tile, bear a heavy physical weight. As tablet-like objects they refer to the origins of writing while embodying the symbolic weight of historical records. If the task of writing and documentation is to describe, explain, and record information, my paintings admit to the instances of human error and confusion that make clarity impossible.
Two years ago, I began writing with my left hand. In my paintings of abstracted documents I use my left hand to paint, forcing me to abandon the established habits and control of my right hand. I make marks that are manual and direct yet they look alien to their own maker. The marks appear as someone else’s writing. Through these works I enact paradox and self-negation. The lines resemble words, but cannot be read. This illegible writing is then crossed out, circled, highlighted and annotated. I aim to demonstrate that documents hold meaning in their visual forms, even without containing legible text. Geometric shapes and calligraphic gestures combine to create an interplay of painting, writing, image and document. The works, many of which are painted on slate tile, bear a heavy physical weight. As tablet-like objects they refer to the origins of writing while embodying the symbolic weight of historical records. If the task of writing and documentation is to describe, explain, and record information, my paintings admit to the instances of human error and confusion that make clarity impossible.
CV
Allison Freeman
Born in Toronto. Lives and works in New York.
Education
2010 MFA, Yale University, New Haven 2005 BFA, Concordia University, Montreal
Shows
2012 TBA, Neiman Gallery, New York (forthcoming)
2011 Group Presentation, James Fuentes LLC, Liste 16, Basel
2011 OPT Working Title, The White Flag, New York
2010 Memorandum, Angell Gallery, Toronto (solo)
2008 Team Studio, Division Gallery, Montreal 2006 Picturing Her, McCord Museum, Montreal 2005 Fresh Paint, Galerie Art Mûr, Montreal
Awards
2011 Visual Arts Project Grant, Ontario Council for the Arts, Toronto, Canada
2010 Winternitz Award For Excellence in Painting, Yale University, New Haven
2007 Brucebo Fine Art Scholarship Foundation, Travel Grant, Gotland, Sweden Bibliography Canadian Art Gallery Hop, Catalog of Artists (forthcoming)
OPT Working Title, Published by The White Flag, 2011
New American Paintings, “Allison Freeman” No. 92, 2011 Vaughan, R.M., "Plugging into walls - and everyday ephemera,” The Globe and Mail, August 2010 Knowles, Marika, "Allison Freeman" Yale MFA Catalog, 2010 Zwirner, Lucas, “At Painting Exhibit, Sculpture” Yale Daily News, April 2010 Dault, Gary Michael, “Allison Freeman at David Kaye Gallery,” The Globe and Mail, June 2007
Allison Freeman
Born in Toronto. Lives and works in New York.
Education
2010 MFA, Yale University, New Haven 2005 BFA, Concordia University, Montreal
Shows
2012 TBA, Neiman Gallery, New York (forthcoming)
2011 Group Presentation, James Fuentes LLC, Liste 16, Basel
2011 OPT Working Title, The White Flag, New York
2010 Memorandum, Angell Gallery, Toronto (solo)
2008 Team Studio, Division Gallery, Montreal 2006 Picturing Her, McCord Museum, Montreal 2005 Fresh Paint, Galerie Art Mûr, Montreal
Awards
2011 Visual Arts Project Grant, Ontario Council for the Arts, Toronto, Canada
2010 Winternitz Award For Excellence in Painting, Yale University, New Haven
2007 Brucebo Fine Art Scholarship Foundation, Travel Grant, Gotland, Sweden Bibliography Canadian Art Gallery Hop, Catalog of Artists (forthcoming)
OPT Working Title, Published by The White Flag, 2011
New American Paintings, “Allison Freeman” No. 92, 2011 Vaughan, R.M., "Plugging into walls - and everyday ephemera,” The Globe and Mail, August 2010 Knowles, Marika, "Allison Freeman" Yale MFA Catalog, 2010 Zwirner, Lucas, “At Painting Exhibit, Sculpture” Yale Daily News, April 2010 Dault, Gary Michael, “Allison Freeman at David Kaye Gallery,” The Globe and Mail, June 2007
Ledger, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Marginalia, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Void Copy, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Journal, oil on canvas, diptych 12” x 19”, 2010
Yellow Copy, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Document 6, oil on canvas, 12” x 9”, 2010
White Pages, oil on slate, diptych 12” x 19”, 2010
Page, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Envelope (manila), oil on canvas, 16” x 14”, 2010
Photocopy, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Document 8, oil on canvas, 12” x 9”, 2010
Invoice (yellow), oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Document 7, oil on canvas, 12” x 9”, 2010
Ledger 2, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Envelope (x-ray), oil on canvas, 12” x 9”, 2010
Yellow Pages, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2010
Clipping, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Document 4, oil on canvas, 12” x 9”, 2010
Invoice (pink), oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011
Schedule, oil on slate, 12” x 9”, 2011