Tara Austin
By the power of design and patterning, we translate the randomness of our sensory experience into orderly motifs, and by organizing those motifs into patterns, we bring clarity out of complexity and predictable regularity out of frightening chance.
- Wayne Roosa
My upbringing in Northern Minnesota instilled an appreciation of botany and a keen observation of patterns in the natural environment. Reflecting on my experiences in the Midwest, South America, and Europe, I seek to communicate a form of natural beauty.
I incorporate techniques from scenic painting and faux finishing, the folk art of Norwegian rosemaling, and reverse painting on glass. Observing these customary processes became a way for me to develop a personal aesthetic based on the necessity of good craftsmanship. Their established authority of geometry, harmony, and beauty speaks vibrantly.
- MFA in Painting/Drawing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 2017
- BA, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, 2012
2020
- Boreal Ornament III, Joseph Nease Gallery – Duluth, MN
2019
- Boreal Ornament II, Johnson Heritage Post Gallery – Grand Marais, MN
2018
- Boreal Ornament, Morrison Gallery, Duluth Art Institute – Duluth, MN
2017
- Mirror Lake, Kohler Art Library, University of WIsconsin-Madison – Madison, WI
- Dusty Turquoise Waters – Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, Art Lofts Gallery – Madison, WI
2016
- Windigo Piperita – Department of Art History Curatorial Lab – Madison, WI
- Vicious Or•ka•id – Master of Arts Exhibition, Art Lofts Gallery – Madison, WI
2017
- Winnowers, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Cephalopod Interface, I Love You More, Cretaquarium, Crete, Greece
2016
- Municipal, Municipal Building, Madison, WI
Arrowhead Biennial – Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN - Diverse Nature: Gender & the Botanic – Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
Wallflowers – Tory Folliard Gallery – Milwaukee, WI - 88th Annual Student Art Show – Gallery 1308, Madison, WI
2015
- Madison 8– Foster Gallery, Eau Claire, WI
- MFA Candidates – Capitol Lakes – Madison, WI
- Holiday Art Underground – Betsey Bowen Studio – Grand Marais, MN
- Separate Checks – Art Lofts – Madison, WI
2014
- Found Out – Art Lofts – Madison, WI
2013
- Papyiri– Prove Gallery- Duluth, MN
- Water Works – Duluth Art Institute- Duluth, MN
2020
- Planned lecture at Joseph Nease Gallery
2018
- Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN
2017
- Kohler Arts Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
2016
- Gallery Night Artist Talk, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
- Capitol Lakes Artist Talk, Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, Madison, WI
2015
- Madison 8 Artist Talk, Foster Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI
2020
- Fellowship award by the American-Scandinavian Foundation
2017
- Vilas Research International Travel Grant, Univ of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
- Chazen Museum Prize Honorable Mention, Curator Brooke Davis Anderson, Univ of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
- Dedalus Foundation Fellowship Nominee, Univ of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
2017 & 2014
- ED-GRS Fellowship, Univ of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Tara Austin talks about Boreal Ornament II at Johnson Heritage Post Gallery.
Tara Austin talks about her exhibition, Boreal Ornaments II, at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery in Grand Marais. Some of the work displayed is on loan from Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth, MN. Tara’s work incorporates techniques from scenic painting, faux finishing, the folk art of Norwegian rosemåling, and reverse painting on glass. Observing these processes became a way for her to develop an aesthetic based on the necessity of good craftsmanship. Their established authority of geometry, harmony, and beauty speaks vibrantly. Tara Austin received her Master of Fine Art in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and recently completed a rosemaling apprenticeship funded through the Wisconsin Arts Board.
