Artist's Biography

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Margery Amdur has been actively creating site-specific installations for over thirty years. Originally from Pittsburgh, she received her B.F.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University and her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

She has worked in diverse communities, with an extensive array of materials, in various formats, platforms, and contexts. She considers herself a painter yet cannot stay within the picture plane. Instead, her densely layered forms, patterns, and textures activate and extend above, below, and on top of any available surface that may be within arm's reach.

She refers to her work as "Felt Narratives." I do not have a specific story to tell, but the materials that I "land on" and the processes that I develop speak to relevant issues. When starting each new body of work, which may extend 5-10 years, she says, "I muster up the courage to leap beyond where "I understand myself to be. It can then take months to a couple of years to catch up." When inside one of her installations, it is apparent that she has an insatiable need to create.

Margery's work has been featured and reviewed in national and international publications such as Sculpture Magazine, New American Paintings, Fiber Arts, New Art Examiner, Manifest International Publications,  ArtVoices, Blanc, and Creative Practices for Visual Artists.

Amass #17 permanently resides in the lobby of the U.S. Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname. In 2018, the Philadelphia Convention Center added Amass #9 and Amass #18 to their permanent collection. Even though the platforms resided underground, Margery's vibrant and invigorating 4,000 sq. ft floor installation, Walking on Sunshine, elevates what was once a dreary and desolate subway station.

In addition to more than sixty solo exhibitions, Margery completed ten national and international projects between 2015 and 2020. A few highlights; Senior Fellowship Award at The Institute for Advanced Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, Two U.S. Embassy sponsored travel awards, participation in the Istanbul Bienali, Istanbul, Turkey, and Riga, Latvia's Sixth International Textile Exhibition.

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Education

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1982
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
MFA, Painting and Sculpture

1980
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
MA, Painting

1979
Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
BFA, Painting and Printmaking

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Publications

2021
Art Collection of the U.S. Embassy Paramaribo (catalogue)

2020
Studio Visit, Volume 45, pages 10, and 11

New American Painting, Volume #

2019
Farley, Katie, Review, Blanc Magazine

The Fiber Studio, January edition

2018
Steinbach, Kevin, Creative Practices for Visual Artists, Routledge Press

Identitate/Identity, 6th Riga International Textile and Fiber Art Triennial

2015
ArtVoices Magazine, Fall Edition, 2014
Cover and Feature

International Painting Annual #6, Manifest Gallery Publication

Future Now, Aesthetica Magazine, LTD

2014
International Painting Annual #4, Manifest Gallery Publication

Fresh Paint, Manifest Gallery Production

Becker, Noah, Feature Review Essay, Art Voices

DCCA publication, essay by Maiza Hixon

2013
Between-My-Selves, essays by Peter Frank, Andrea Kirsh, Harvey Hix, Roberta Fallon, Leslie Kaufman

New American Painting, Edition 110

2011
International Painting Annual #2, Manifest Gallery Publication

Parallel Trajectories, Rutgers University

Metaphysical Materiality, Essays by Peter Frank, Pam Longobardi

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Awards and Honors

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2020
Corkins Retreat, Chama, NM, selected as one of fifteen participant in the creative and expressive arts workshop

2019
MASSMoCa Fellowship, North Adams, MA

Rutgers University Faculty Research Grant

Rutgers University Interdisciplinary Grant

2018
Jerry Shore Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center

Manifest International Painting Annual #10

2015
Art Prize, Aesthetica Magazine, selected as top 100 International Artists to Watch, York, UK

Rutgers University Faculty Research Grant, Camden, NJ

Central European University for Advance Study Senior Research Fellowship, Budapest, Hungary

2014
New American Painting, Edition # 110

2013
Rutgers University Faculty Research Grant, Camden, NJ

Gullkistan Artist in Residency, Laugarvatn, Iceland

Moulin a Nef Artist in Residency, Auvillar, France

2012
Artists of the State Award, Harrisburg, PA

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA

Springboard Technology residency, Philadelphia PA

Rutgers University Dean’s Grant, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ

2011
OX Bow Artist Residency, Saugatuck, MI

2010
Art and Transit Public Art Commission, Philadelphia, PA

New American Painting, Spring Edition

Atlanta, Georgia Group Exhibition, University of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Faculty Research Grant, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ

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Professional Experience

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Lectures and Workshops

2022
Fiber Arts Australia, Melbourne, Australia

2021
Bethel College, Minneapolis, MN

2020
Venture Café, Philadelphia, PA

University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

2019
New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA

2018
Visiting Artist, Academy of Fine Art, Riga, Latvia

Visiting Artist, University of Hawaii, Ahu, HI

2017
Visiting Artist Nola Hatterman Art Academy, Paramaribo, Suriname

Visiting Artist, Camden County University, Camden, NJ

2015
Visiting Artist, Brown University, Providence, RI

Visiting Artist, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

Artist in Residence, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

2014
Artist in Residence, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Visiting Artist, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA

Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA

2013
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

University of South Texas, Pan American, Edinburg, TX

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Curatorial & Leadership

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2022
Artistic Lineage; Situating Ourselves, Moderator and originator of the series on Clubhouse Platform

2021
Inside/Out; Arts Provocative and Evocative Relationship with Trauma; co-host and moderator with Jorge Guitterez, independent curator and art critic

2018
Making Meaning, International Workshop Organizer and Instructor, Riga Latvia

Curator, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA

Moderator and Presenter, Art as an Engine for Social and Economic Development in Underprivileged Communities, International Conference sponsored by Rutgers University and the University of Havana, Varadero, Cuba

2015
International Learning Abroad Organizer and Instructor, Iceland

2010
Seeing Voices: The Authentic Visual Voice, Co-Curator and Director, Rutgers University, Stedman Art Gallery, Camden, National Symposium, Rutgers University, Camden NJ

Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ

Hopkins House Gallery, Collingswood, NJ

2009
To Be or Not to Be, A Painter's Dilemma, Rutgers, University, Stedman Art Gallery, Camden, NJ

Hopkins House Gallery, Collingswood, NJ

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Exhibitions

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Solo

2022
Cedar Crest University, Allentown, PA

2019
University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA

2018
Gage Gallery, Augsburg University, Minneapolis, MN

2017
US Embassy, Paramaribo, Suriname

2016
US Ambassador’s Residency, Riga, Latvia

2015
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, PA

South Texas College, McAllen, TX

Gullkistan Gallery, Laugavartn, Iceland

2014
Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Elensburg, WA

Delaware Center for the Arts, Wilmington DE

2013
Noyes Museum, Oceanville, NJ

Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2012
University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK

Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Southeastern Public Art-In-Transit Commission, Spring Garden Underground Subway Station, Philadelphia, PA

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Group

2021
Trolley Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY

Ester Klein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2020
Material Slip, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

RED!, Webster Arts, St Louis, MO

2019
Istanbul Bienali, Takksim Cumhuriyet Sanat Galerisi

2018
Geometrification, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

Material Slip, University of Hawaii, Ahu, HI

Sixth International Fiber International, Riga, Latvia

2017
Big, The Painting Center, New York, NY
Invitational

More is Concealed than Revealed, Revold, 990 Spring Garden, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

Architectonic Shift, InLiquid at Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

Reinterpreting Landscape and Nature, InLiquid at Stanek Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2016
Fiber International, Pittsburgh, PA

Bellwhether Sculpture Exhibition, Bellevue, WA

Mixed Use / Extending the Terms, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2015
CG2 Gallery, Nashville,TN

Red Dot Art Fair, Miami/Basel, Miami, FL

Wynnewood Art Fair, Miami, FL

Leedy-Voulkos Gallery, Kansas City, MO

2014
From Raw to Refined, Pearlstein Gallery Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

2013
Fresh Paint, Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH

Marlin Art Gallery, Blackwood, NJ

Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA

Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach, FL

Art Miami, Miami, FL

Surface as Signifier, Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA

From Here to There, Stedman Gallery, Camden, NJ

2012
Art Prize, Gallery 106, Grand Rapids, MI

Surface As Signifier, Blackwood, NJ

From Here to There, Stedman, Gallery, Camden, NJ

Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Aqua Fair Miami/Basel, Miami, FL

Design Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

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