Julie Gearan enjoys exploring a narrative in her painting; she describes herself as “a painter of themes that connect human relationships of past and present, linking ancient myths with our current everyday lives.” She also is interested in the portrait as a genre, and has recently been selected to paint the official portrait of Governor Lincoln D. Chafee. Gearan received

Mary Beth Meehan is a photographer whose work explores issues of culture, community, and visibility. She undertakes long-term, in-depth projects, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, RISCA, RICH, and others. “City of Champions,” her first public installation, in her hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, was featured on the New York Times LENS blog,

I began working with glass in 1970 because it is an extraordinarily versatile material and I believed that there were endless unexplored possibilities. I still believe this . I employ the vessel as my vehicle of expression because of it’s basic three dimensionality; giving me the possibility of working in 2 and 3 dimensions at

Duane Slick identifies himself as a first generation urban Indian, born of a father from the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa— where Slick was born in 1961—and a mother from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Nebraska. He received a BFA from the University of Northern Iowa and an MFA from the University of California at Davis. Slick

Leslie Bostrom, born in 1951, received a BA from the University of Maine and an MFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is an associate professor of art at Brown University. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue     Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D. Additional Information: Artist’s Website: lesliebostrom.com

Alan Metnick was born in Chicago and came of age in the 1960s. Shaken by the political turmoil of the era, he earned a BA in history at the University of Wisconsin. Determined to forge a meaningful life as an artist, Metnick first embraced photography, creating sensitive and strong work under the guidance of photographer Harry Callahan at the

My current work consists of geometric shapes that are built by the systematic application of repeated marks to a visual lined structure. It is derived from my previous work where the marks were hung on a linear structure to create an allover painting or drawing. I set up a defined format within which to work

Jessica Deane Rosner was raised in Manhattan and received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she majored in enameling. Back in New York, Rosner worked in enamel and then jewelry before relocating to Cranston, Rhode Island, almost thirty years ago. She began to work in pen and ink, eventually finding satisfaction in

Collage is at the heart of John DeMelim’s art; to him it is the most cohesive way to represent the myriad of differing realities we experience each day. His images derive from extensive travel and study of ancient cultures in the Amazon, New Guinea, and Mexico, as well as visits to Mali, Japan, and Greece, with his late wife.

Irene Lawrence is a painter, printmaker, and maker of books as well as a musician who studies the cello and the viola da gamba. Born in California, she grew up on Long Island and came to Providence, where she lives, to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. Lawrence’s work is characterized by an integration of rhythmic strokes using monochromatic

Her love of Celtic culture inspires the creative life of artist Laura Travis. She is a sculptor, carving primarily in limestone, soapstone and slate, and has more than 20 years experience teaching Visual Art at all levels. Travis came to Rhode Island College from New York to study art education. For many years she had a studio at AS220,

Nancy Friese obtained her BS in nursing from the University of North Dakota, in the state where she was born and maintains a farmstead studio. She changed her career course and studied painting and printmaking at different venues, culminating in an MFA from the Yale University School of Art in 1980. Primarily a landscape painter

Richard Fishman grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts and attended Boston University before transferring to the Rhode Island School of Design for his BFA. In New Orleans, at Tulane University, he earned an MFA. In 1965, Fishman began teaching at Brown University where he has contributed to the remarkable growth in the institution’s arts departments. His

Neal Walsh, born in Rhode Island in 1969, graduated from the University of Rhode Island and received important artistic training as the studio assistant for Pawtucket-based Polish artist Wlodzimierz Ksiazek. He serves as Gallery Director for AS220. Source in: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Edited by: Saulius Sruogis, Richard Goulis Additional footage: Jill

Andrew Raftery’s roots were in East Providence, from where his first generation Irish father came. He grew up in Washington, D.C., made his first print at the age of eleven, and attained a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Raftery, a professor of printmaking at the Rhode Island

My inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere, and I truly mean everywhere. I probably cannot find a place in the known universe, especially the unknown, in which I don’t find some inkling of interest that might someday or another translate into a piece of artwork, video, or performance. But I don’t dwell on that. Its a

Born in Israel in 1964, Yizhak Elyashiv received a BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He lives in Providence and teaches Foundation studies at RISD and Rhode Island College. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue     Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Kai McMurty

Paul Housberg creates site-specific works in glass for corporate, hospitality, healthcare and public environments. He says, “my work explores the juxtaposition of order and randomness, as well as the natural human tendency to seek pattern in chaos, our persistent desire to find meaning in disorder. I’m inspired by the ordinary, yet strangely beautiful, phenomenon of

Dean Snyder’s sculpture has been characterized as “uncanny ‘graphical’ organicism experienced through seamless assemblies of highly considered forming, molding, and lamination.” Drawing plays a large role in Snyder’s studio. A native of Philadelphia, Snyder received a BFA in photography and sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1974; a British Arts Council Fellowship for

Well-known as the creator of The Plaza of Art and Cultures/La Plaza del Arte y Las Culturas, the mural on Broad Street in Providence, Agustín Patiño was born in Ecuador in 1969, studied architecture at Cuenca State University and received his BFA in painting from Central University of Quito. He paints and resides in Providence.

Kate Blacklock’s early love of ceramics came from her viewing of the Pre-Columbian pottery at New York’s Museum of Natural History where her mother worked. Blacklock received her BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. In her studio art, Blacklock has

Performance art was the catalyst for David Allyn’s career as a ceramic artist. His gigs as “Uncle Thirsty” led him to make ceramic cups, which he says led to a “more grounded” approach to his craft. Using photo decals and silkscreen printing on porcelain, Allyn creates one-of-a-kind handmade porcelain objects, filled with color and imagery.

Peter Marcus’ recent focus is on “The New American Family,” the title of his recent exhibition at the Newport Art Museum. Marcus creates large-scale composite prints using a unique collagraph printmaking process. He says that his work crosses boundaries between painting, printmaking and drawing. As a professor of art at Washington University in St. Louis,

Jerold Ehrlich studied sculpture at Connecticut College. He has lived in Austria, Italy, and Japan and now resides in Narragansett, Rhode Island. His material of choice is rebar, which is found around construction sites where Ehrlich has spent much time in one of his other lives. Rebar is the skeletal armature for poured concrete. Surrounded

A Pittsburgh native, Boris Bally received a BFA in metals from Carnegie Mellon University. Not afraid to take on the “form versus function” dilemma, Bally is a master of blending fine craft and popular culture. His work is both witty and innovative, employing the use of jeweler’s skills on non-precious materials. His current body of work transforms recycled street signs,

A multi-faceted artist and musician, Andrew Moon Bain was born in 1974 in Texas and grew up in the Pacific Northwest, playing classical music in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra. Since receiving a BFA in sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design, Bain has become an active part of the Providence arts community as

John Udvardy retired from a thirty-four year career teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design where he chaired the Foundation Studies program and taught three-dimensional design. A sculptor who seeks to make connections between natural and manmade forms, Udvardy collects and categorizes his objects in his studio in a way that indicates what an

Peter Prip, the son of Danish master metalsmith John Prip, was born in Denmark, shortly before his father came to teach at the Rhode Island School of Design. Prip attended the Rochester Institute of Technology, School for American Craftsmen, and after an apprenticeship with Ronald Pearson, launched a career as a studio metalsmith and jeweler.

Born in 1957 in Massachusetts, Daniel Clayman trained as a theater and modern dance lighting designer. He received a BFA in glass from the Rhode Island School of Design and has a studio in East Providence, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue     Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Myles Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D. Additional

Meg Little successfully combines function with fine art in her handtufted rugs with designs inspired by ancient petroglyphs as well as modern art. Little received her BFA from Tyler School of Art and an MAE from the Rhode Island School of Design. She taught at Plymouth College of Art and Design in England for several

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1984, with two degrees in Industrial Design, Peter Diepenbrock launched his sculptural career. He simultaneously supported his studio, producing limited edition furnishings and tabletop functional objects. While designing for his private label TROY, as well as Dansk and Umbra, Diepenbrock’s sculpture continued to develop. His

Looking back throughout my 40 years of photographing what do I see through that clear singular reflective lens of time? From my first photograph, a self-portrait with dark glasses and a beret, to my most recent photograph, a self-portrait in a rat temple in Bikaner, India, the one word that jumps out at me is

Allison Paschke explores dimensionality and geometry in her abstract sculptures and installations. She uses reflective and translucent materials such as mirrors, porcelain, and resin. Her work is interactive, affected by space and light, and is intended to stimulate one’s inner psyche as well as one’s aesthetic appreciation. Paschke received a BFA in ceramics from the

Bob Dilworth, born in 1951, received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; he is currently professor and chair of the art department at the University of Rhode Island. He resides in Providence. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Additional

Dennis Congdon holds a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Yale University. In 1983 he won the Prix de Rome and became a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He has been on the faculty at RISD since 1984 and has also taught at the School

  “‘Written in Stone,’ as the saying goes. This is my work. Tap, tap, tap, announces the dance between mallet, chisel, and stone. The idea of a sculpted surface or dimensional plane with letters carved upon it adds a literal and physical element to the understanding of the words. For fourteen years, I’ve been a

Xander Marro is a fake scientist/olde style tinker residing at the dirt palace; a feminist cupcake encrusted netherworld located along the dioxin filled banks of the Woonasquatucket River (which is to say in Providence, RI, USA). From this post she makes movies, puppet shows, prints and phone calls. Her adventures underground have included curating the

Scott Lapham was born in Massachusetts in 1968 and came to Providence to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. His photographic series have explored neighborhoods, people and cultural trends that are often perceived to have little social worth. Within these communities, he looks to find emotional value, historic relevance and an appreciation for lives

Nicholas Benson, at the age of 15, began an apprenticeship at The John Stevens Shop with his father, John Benson. This shop in Newport, RI, founded in 1705, specializes in the design and execution of one-of-a-kind inscriptions in stone. Architectural and memorial lettering is generated by hand with a broad-edged brush in the manner of

Anthony Russo graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1971 with a BFA but was undecided about a career as an artist until he sold an illustration to a Boston weekly, The Real Paper, and never looked back. Today he is a freelance illustrator whose many clients include The New York Times, Washington Post,

A native New Englander who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, Gretchen Dow Simpson spent many years living in New York City, where she completed over 65 covers for The New Yorker magazine. In 1985, an exhibition at the Newport Art Museum brought her back to the area, and she moved to Providence’s

A native of California, Wendy Wahl was born in 1961 and received a BA from California State University, Northridge, before leaving for the Rhode Island School of Design, where she obtained an MAE. Known for her sculptural work with paper and site-specific installations, she lives in West Kingston, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue  

Brian Shure is a painter and printmaker working with representations of people in public spaces. He received a BA from Antioch College. He worked as a professional lithographer for 15 years, has published and printed editions under the Smalltree Press imprint, and was a Master Printer and Coordinator of the China Woodblock Program at Crown

Janet Prip, the daughter of Danish master metalsmith John Prip, was born in 1950 in New York. By the time her father was concluding his teaching career at the Rhode Island School of Design, she enrolled as a student, lucky enough to study with her father for four years. Prip began her career as a

As the founder and president of Morris Nathanson Design, with offices in New York, Boston and Providence, Morris Nathanson has led projects all over the world. He has won many awards for his hospitality venues and restaurants. In 1986, after decades of business travel, Nathanson settled down in his native city, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and

Howard Ben Tré’s sculpture, and especially, as we shall see, his public works, are permeated by idealism. Even when his sculptures are intended for more private viewing, they draw on forms that are at once simple and universal. Ben Tré recounts that he began to cast glass when he looked at the molten liquid and

Born in Rhode Island in 1963, Stephen Brownell has a degree in botany from the University of Rhode Island, but pursues a painting career at his Providence studio. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Still Photography: Scott Lapham, Erik Gould Music: DB Leonard Executive Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines proportion as ‘the relation of one part to another.’ Pleasing proportions render the whole harmonious, symmetrical and agreeable. I feel that this is central to good furniture design. With considered, but rough, mathematical proportions arrived at visually, I strive to create furniture which is graceful, balanced and sensuous. I