Art (making, studying, traveling-to-see, teaching) has been at the center of my life for more than thirty years. After all of this time, what fascinates and compels me hasn't really changed. I make art to slow down and take a deep breath, to try to see the world more clearly and to find what's beautiful.
A graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology and Hampshire College, my work has been exhibited, published, and commissioned for more than three decades. I'm the author of three books and the creator of a number of large-scale public works. Early exhibitions of note: An invitational, 5 woman show in Milan, Foto Colorate, curated by Lanfranco Colombo (1994); solo exhibition at Casa Italiana in New York (1994); solo exhibition at Creative Photographic Arts in Maine (1997); Parallax Women's Photography (invitational 2012); New England Biennial (invitational 2013); Flash Forward Photo Festival (invitational 2014).
From 2011-2014, I was the lead art educator at the Center For Maine Contemporary Art, and the creator of the ArtLab For All Ages program. An insatiable traveler with a great love for the sea, in 2014 I began working for Celebrity Cruises, designing itinerary-based projects to teach creative watercolor painting aboard the ships. I spent five years traveling the world, painting and teaching all along the way. Traveling -especially by sea, crossing oceans, moving from port to port- has been a great joy, an education, and a constant source of inspiration.
In 2018, my paintings were selected for the Biennial at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, and I was awarded a residency at the Millay Colony of the Arts. In 2020, a solo exhibition of paintings was on view at the Zillman Art Museum, accompanied by a 58 page catalog. In 2021, my work was featured in a three person watercolor exhibition at Cove Street Arts in Portland, Maine.
During the pandemic, I turned toward ceramics full-time. This sea change was the alchemical gift I had been searching for. I worked intuitively, as if in a trance. My first pieces came out of the kiln as fully formed extensions of all of my previous work, especially my paintings. It felt (and continues to feel) like an easy love affair. Turning my vessels in my hands and on a banding wheel, I create three dimensional paintings, developed in the moment, one mark informing the next, with color, shape and line coalescing to a whole. This improvisational, instinctive approach comes from my background in both photography and painting: I bring to my clay work my love of creating and capturing moments, and building images layer by layer. I'm looking for compositions with movement and balance, whimsy and raw beauty. My process-driven work is created in the spirit of play and discovery.
In the summer of 2022, I was selected for the Material Intersections residency at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, to explore "painterly approaches to working with clay." In the winter of 2023, I was in residence at Momento Ceramics in Locarno, Switzerland, continuing to focus on my series Tenerezza. In the spring of 2023, a solo exhibition of watercolors and ceramics, Play Date, was on view at the Maine Jewish Museum. In the winter of 2024, I returned to Momento Ceramics in Locarno, continuing to focus on relationships, women, and tenerezza. In the summer, my love for swimming found its way into a new series.
My ceramic work can be found at Gallery B in Castine, Maine and the Center For Maine Contemporary Art shop in Rockland, Maine. Studio visits by request.
A graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology and Hampshire College, my work has been exhibited, published, and commissioned for more than three decades. I'm the author of three books and the creator of a number of large-scale public works. Early exhibitions of note: An invitational, 5 woman show in Milan, Foto Colorate, curated by Lanfranco Colombo (1994); solo exhibition at Casa Italiana in New York (1994); solo exhibition at Creative Photographic Arts in Maine (1997); Parallax Women's Photography (invitational 2012); New England Biennial (invitational 2013); Flash Forward Photo Festival (invitational 2014).
From 2011-2014, I was the lead art educator at the Center For Maine Contemporary Art, and the creator of the ArtLab For All Ages program. An insatiable traveler with a great love for the sea, in 2014 I began working for Celebrity Cruises, designing itinerary-based projects to teach creative watercolor painting aboard the ships. I spent five years traveling the world, painting and teaching all along the way. Traveling -especially by sea, crossing oceans, moving from port to port- has been a great joy, an education, and a constant source of inspiration.
In 2018, my paintings were selected for the Biennial at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, and I was awarded a residency at the Millay Colony of the Arts. In 2020, a solo exhibition of paintings was on view at the Zillman Art Museum, accompanied by a 58 page catalog. In 2021, my work was featured in a three person watercolor exhibition at Cove Street Arts in Portland, Maine.
During the pandemic, I turned toward ceramics full-time. This sea change was the alchemical gift I had been searching for. I worked intuitively, as if in a trance. My first pieces came out of the kiln as fully formed extensions of all of my previous work, especially my paintings. It felt (and continues to feel) like an easy love affair. Turning my vessels in my hands and on a banding wheel, I create three dimensional paintings, developed in the moment, one mark informing the next, with color, shape and line coalescing to a whole. This improvisational, instinctive approach comes from my background in both photography and painting: I bring to my clay work my love of creating and capturing moments, and building images layer by layer. I'm looking for compositions with movement and balance, whimsy and raw beauty. My process-driven work is created in the spirit of play and discovery.
In the summer of 2022, I was selected for the Material Intersections residency at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, to explore "painterly approaches to working with clay." In the winter of 2023, I was in residence at Momento Ceramics in Locarno, Switzerland, continuing to focus on my series Tenerezza. In the spring of 2023, a solo exhibition of watercolors and ceramics, Play Date, was on view at the Maine Jewish Museum. In the winter of 2024, I returned to Momento Ceramics in Locarno, continuing to focus on relationships, women, and tenerezza. In the summer, my love for swimming found its way into a new series.
My ceramic work can be found at Gallery B in Castine, Maine and the Center For Maine Contemporary Art shop in Rockland, Maine. Studio visits by request.
MARCIE JAN BRONSTEIN . VISUAL ARTIST . BELFAST, MAINE . USA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 Gallery B, Castine, ME
2023 Thrown Contemporary: Winter Exhibition, London UK (invitational)
Marywood University, The Russell Collection, Scranton, PA (selected artist)
Gallery B, four exhibitions, Castine, ME
Parsonage Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Searsport, ME (invitational)
Maine Jewish Museum: Play Date, Portland, ME (solo)
2022 Thrown Contemporary: Winter Exhibition, London UK (invitational)
Carver Hill Gallery: Winterlude, Camden, ME (invitational)
Gallery B: Breaking Bread and SWS22, Castine, ME (invitational)
Penobscot Marine Museum: Penobscot Bay as Muse, Searsport, ME (invitational)
2021 Cove Street Arts: Eaux the Water, Portland, ME (3 person show)
Clifford Gallery, Waterfall Arts: Photographing Belfast's Waterfront, Belfast, ME (invitational)
2020 Zillman Art Museum: Being Here, Bangor, ME (solo)
2018 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Biennial Exhibition, Rockland, ME (juried)
2017 The Annex Art Center, Castine, ME (invitational)
2014 Photographic Resource Center: Flash Forward Festival, Boston, MA (invitational)
Slocumb Gallery: Positive/Negative: Pages, Johnson City, TN (juried)
2013 New England Photography Biennial,Framingham, MA (invitational)
Aarhus Gallery: Infinite Horizons, Belfast, ME (invitational)
2012 Parallax, The Women’s Photography Exhibition , Notre Dame U, MD (invitational)
2009 ME Museum of Photographic Art: Capture: 50 Photographic Artists, Falmouth, ME
2007 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Altered Nature, Rockport, ME (invitational)
Elan Fine Arts: gallery artist, Rockport, ME
2006 Photomedia Center: Illuminating the Negative, Erie, PA (solo)
2005 Elan Fine Arts: gallery artist, Rockport, ME
Blum Gallery, College of the Atlantic: Portrait/Self Portrait , Bar Harbor, ME (juried)
Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Winter in Maine, Rockport, ME (juried)
2002 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Plugged In, Rockport, ME (juried)
2002 Elements Gallery: gallery artist, Rockland, ME
2001 LSU: Works On Paper 2001, Baton Rouge, LA (prize Winner- juried)
1999 Elements Gallery: The Doll Series, Rockland, ME (solo)
Elements Gallery: Dogs In Cars, Rockland, ME (solo)
Maine Coast Artists: After Dark, Rockport, ME
The Frankfurt Airport: First Designer’s Avenue, Frankfurt, Germany
1997 Creative Photographic Arts Center: Photographs 1992-1997, Lewiston, ME (solo)
A.I.R. Gallery Invitational: Generations , New York, NY
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, Hamilton: Emerging Artists, New York, NY (2 person)
1996 Sylvia White Gallery: The Horse Show , Los Angeles, CA (juried)
Danforth Gallery: Visions of the Mind, Portland, ME (juried)
1995 Gallery 2/20: Work in Progress, New York, NY
1994 Casa Italiana/NYU :The Italian Series , NYC,NY (solo)
Galleria Il Diaframma/ Kodak Cultura : Foto Colorate, Milan, Italy (5 person)
1993 Nuova Libreria Galileo & Studio Poletto, Mestre, Italy (solo)
1992 Artemare 1992: L’uomo e il Mare, Riposto, Italy
1990 Michael Thompson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
UC Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
1987 Hampshire College, Amherst, MA (solo)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2021 Portland Press Herald: exhibition review, Portland, ME
Working Waterfront, Island Institute: feature article, August, Rockport, ME
Maine Arts Journal: feature essay and paintings, Summer
2020 Being Here: Marcie Jan Bronstein, Watercolor Paintings, catalog, Zillman Art Museum
2019 ArtMaze Contemporary Art: featured artist, Summer, Issue 13
2018 Decor Maine: featured artist
Your Impossible Voice Literary Journal: cover painting, Winter Issue
2017 Portland Press Herald: feature article, Portland, ME
Yale University, Perch Arts & Literary Journal: 2 paintings, New Haven, CT
New England Review: cover painting, Middlebury, VT
Maine Home and Design: Maine Artists To Watch, Portland, ME
Princeton Art Brushes: Artist Spotlight
2016 Art Revealed Magazine: portfolio and interview, London, UK
2015 After The Pause Poetry Journal: featured portfolio of paintings
2008 The Maine Sunday Telegram: featured author, Portland, ME
2004 Exploring Color Photography: feature • McGraw Hill Publishers, New York, NY
2003 Non Satis Scire: Hampshire College Magazine: cover + portfolio feature, Amherst, MA
2001 Object Lessons: Beauty and Meaning in Art, Madison, WI
1998 The Free Press: Two Artists in a Barn..., Rockland, ME
1997 The Maine Sunday Telegram: review of solo exhibition, Portland, ME
1994 Creativity: And then there was NON..., New York, NY
ZOOM: Al Diaframma, Milan, Italy
1993 Il Gazzetino: Un’americana che dipinge le foto (review), Venice, Italy
Il Gazzetino: Musica & fotografia (review), Mestre, Italy
Progresso Fotografico (portfolio), Milan, Italy
1992 La Nazione, Florence, Italy
RESIDENCIES
2024 Momento Ceramics, Locarno, Switzerland
2023 Momento Ceramics, Locarno, Switzerland
2022 Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME
2018 Millay Colony, (Full Fellowship), Austerlitz, NY
1986 Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
1985 Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT
PUBLIC ART / COMMISSIONS / GRANTS/ etc
2024 Maine Craft Weekend, Open Studio
2023 Pecha Kucha Presentation, Strand Theater, Rockland, ME
2021 Maine Community Foundation: Crosswalk Design: Flow To The Sea, Belfast, ME
2005 Bellevue Hospital: 250 photographs for new hospital wing, New York, NY
2005 ME Arts Commission: Good Idea Grant, Augusta, Maine
2004 Public Percent-for-Art Program: 30’ x 15’ installation, Belfast, ME
2002 Public Percent-for-Art Program: 24 works, Denver, CO
1994 Saks Fifth Avenue: art in Fifth Avenue windows, New York, NY
1990 Neiman Marcus: art in windows, San Francisco, CA
EDUCATION
1992 Lorenzo de Medici: Diploma Magister Linguae: Italian language, Florence, Italy
1988 Hampshire College: BFA, Amherst, MA
1986 Fashion Institute of Technology: AAS, Magna Cum Laude, New York, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024 Gallery B, Castine, ME
2023 Thrown Contemporary: Winter Exhibition, London UK (invitational)
Marywood University, The Russell Collection, Scranton, PA (selected artist)
Gallery B, four exhibitions, Castine, ME
Parsonage Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Searsport, ME (invitational)
Maine Jewish Museum: Play Date, Portland, ME (solo)
2022 Thrown Contemporary: Winter Exhibition, London UK (invitational)
Carver Hill Gallery: Winterlude, Camden, ME (invitational)
Gallery B: Breaking Bread and SWS22, Castine, ME (invitational)
Penobscot Marine Museum: Penobscot Bay as Muse, Searsport, ME (invitational)
2021 Cove Street Arts: Eaux the Water, Portland, ME (3 person show)
Clifford Gallery, Waterfall Arts: Photographing Belfast's Waterfront, Belfast, ME (invitational)
2020 Zillman Art Museum: Being Here, Bangor, ME (solo)
2018 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Biennial Exhibition, Rockland, ME (juried)
2017 The Annex Art Center, Castine, ME (invitational)
2014 Photographic Resource Center: Flash Forward Festival, Boston, MA (invitational)
Slocumb Gallery: Positive/Negative: Pages, Johnson City, TN (juried)
2013 New England Photography Biennial,Framingham, MA (invitational)
Aarhus Gallery: Infinite Horizons, Belfast, ME (invitational)
2012 Parallax, The Women’s Photography Exhibition , Notre Dame U, MD (invitational)
2009 ME Museum of Photographic Art: Capture: 50 Photographic Artists, Falmouth, ME
2007 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Altered Nature, Rockport, ME (invitational)
Elan Fine Arts: gallery artist, Rockport, ME
2006 Photomedia Center: Illuminating the Negative, Erie, PA (solo)
2005 Elan Fine Arts: gallery artist, Rockport, ME
Blum Gallery, College of the Atlantic: Portrait/Self Portrait , Bar Harbor, ME (juried)
Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Winter in Maine, Rockport, ME (juried)
2002 Center for Maine Contemporary Art: Plugged In, Rockport, ME (juried)
2002 Elements Gallery: gallery artist, Rockland, ME
2001 LSU: Works On Paper 2001, Baton Rouge, LA (prize Winner- juried)
1999 Elements Gallery: The Doll Series, Rockland, ME (solo)
Elements Gallery: Dogs In Cars, Rockland, ME (solo)
Maine Coast Artists: After Dark, Rockport, ME
The Frankfurt Airport: First Designer’s Avenue, Frankfurt, Germany
1997 Creative Photographic Arts Center: Photographs 1992-1997, Lewiston, ME (solo)
A.I.R. Gallery Invitational: Generations , New York, NY
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, Hamilton: Emerging Artists, New York, NY (2 person)
1996 Sylvia White Gallery: The Horse Show , Los Angeles, CA (juried)
Danforth Gallery: Visions of the Mind, Portland, ME (juried)
1995 Gallery 2/20: Work in Progress, New York, NY
1994 Casa Italiana/NYU :The Italian Series , NYC,NY (solo)
Galleria Il Diaframma/ Kodak Cultura : Foto Colorate, Milan, Italy (5 person)
1993 Nuova Libreria Galileo & Studio Poletto, Mestre, Italy (solo)
1992 Artemare 1992: L’uomo e il Mare, Riposto, Italy
1990 Michael Thompson Gallery, San Francisco, CA
UC Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
1987 Hampshire College, Amherst, MA (solo)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2021 Portland Press Herald: exhibition review, Portland, ME
Working Waterfront, Island Institute: feature article, August, Rockport, ME
Maine Arts Journal: feature essay and paintings, Summer
2020 Being Here: Marcie Jan Bronstein, Watercolor Paintings, catalog, Zillman Art Museum
2019 ArtMaze Contemporary Art: featured artist, Summer, Issue 13
2018 Decor Maine: featured artist
Your Impossible Voice Literary Journal: cover painting, Winter Issue
2017 Portland Press Herald: feature article, Portland, ME
Yale University, Perch Arts & Literary Journal: 2 paintings, New Haven, CT
New England Review: cover painting, Middlebury, VT
Maine Home and Design: Maine Artists To Watch, Portland, ME
Princeton Art Brushes: Artist Spotlight
2016 Art Revealed Magazine: portfolio and interview, London, UK
2015 After The Pause Poetry Journal: featured portfolio of paintings
2008 The Maine Sunday Telegram: featured author, Portland, ME
2004 Exploring Color Photography: feature • McGraw Hill Publishers, New York, NY
2003 Non Satis Scire: Hampshire College Magazine: cover + portfolio feature, Amherst, MA
2001 Object Lessons: Beauty and Meaning in Art, Madison, WI
1998 The Free Press: Two Artists in a Barn..., Rockland, ME
1997 The Maine Sunday Telegram: review of solo exhibition, Portland, ME
1994 Creativity: And then there was NON..., New York, NY
ZOOM: Al Diaframma, Milan, Italy
1993 Il Gazzetino: Un’americana che dipinge le foto (review), Venice, Italy
Il Gazzetino: Musica & fotografia (review), Mestre, Italy
Progresso Fotografico (portfolio), Milan, Italy
1992 La Nazione, Florence, Italy
RESIDENCIES
2024 Momento Ceramics, Locarno, Switzerland
2023 Momento Ceramics, Locarno, Switzerland
2022 Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME
2018 Millay Colony, (Full Fellowship), Austerlitz, NY
1986 Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY
1985 Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT
PUBLIC ART / COMMISSIONS / GRANTS/ etc
2024 Maine Craft Weekend, Open Studio
2023 Pecha Kucha Presentation, Strand Theater, Rockland, ME
2021 Maine Community Foundation: Crosswalk Design: Flow To The Sea, Belfast, ME
2005 Bellevue Hospital: 250 photographs for new hospital wing, New York, NY
2005 ME Arts Commission: Good Idea Grant, Augusta, Maine
2004 Public Percent-for-Art Program: 30’ x 15’ installation, Belfast, ME
2002 Public Percent-for-Art Program: 24 works, Denver, CO
1994 Saks Fifth Avenue: art in Fifth Avenue windows, New York, NY
1990 Neiman Marcus: art in windows, San Francisco, CA
EDUCATION
1992 Lorenzo de Medici: Diploma Magister Linguae: Italian language, Florence, Italy
1988 Hampshire College: BFA, Amherst, MA
1986 Fashion Institute of Technology: AAS, Magna Cum Laude, New York, NY
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Since 1996 I've lived and worked on the coast of Maine in this 180 year old converted barn with my studio on the ground floor. The studio continues to evolve with my work: analogue darkroom to digital darkroom to painting studio to ceramic studio. |
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