Summer J. Hart
Contact Information
Cold Spring, NY
Artist's Biography
Trained in book arts and printmaking, Summer J. Hart received a BFA from the Hartford Art School, West Hartford, CT, and an MFA from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Her visual and written narratives are part enchantment, part cautionary tale.
Artist's Statement
Influenced by folklore, superstition, divination, & forgotten territories reclaimed by nature, I create immersive installations out of hand-cut Tyvek—a nonwoven material most familiar as an insulating wrap used in the construction industry. These environments might be fairy-tale forests or the sites of biological disasters. Perhaps both.
My work is both obsessive and about obsession. I compulsively repeat minor movements with a blade to draw objects that are indicative of natural forms, such as leaves, feathers, barnacles, and seaweed. Sewing, layering, & adding lights allow the work to operate across three dimensions, using both shadows and vacancies as marks.
I am astounded by the resiliency of the forest: the endless process of reproduction, mutation, and evolution. Even after we trample it, cut it all down, build from and over it, new seeds scatter, vines reach.
My work explores the way nature reclaims the built environment. Who or what will fill the vacancies after we have passed through—emerge from the wreckage and colonize, metastasize, assert control? I use Tyvek because, although it mimics the fragility of paper, it is durable enough to weave, sew, & cut into drawings that stretch from ceiling to floor: creating dense, “living walls.” Tyvek provides protection—covering, wrapping, & insulation for the home. I use both the negative & positive pieces—weaving the offcuts into thickets or clusters, collecting all of the tiny pieces & suspending them to mimic swarms or clouds / an omen for the augur—that moment when starlings black out the sun.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo/Two-Person
2019
Protection From What Remains, The Art Dept. Collective, Philadelphia, PA
Augury of Ash, Sohn's Gallery, Bangor, ME
2018
Further Evidence of Invasion, Create Community Space, Cold Spring, NY
2016
Bird & Bears & Flowers & Things, Sohn's Gallery, Bangor, ME
2012
Cards 'Till Nine to Kill Time, The Counting Room, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Whatsoever the Wolf Wishes, Vaudeville Park, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Pastoral, Tryon Farm, Michigan City, IN
Songbirds, Urban Outfitters, Champaign, IL
2009
shining with the secret of it, CoLAB Projects, New Orleans, LA
not a bird nested here, Kasia Kay Art Projects, Chicago, IL
Nostalgic Anxieties, Studio West Gallery, Eugene, OR
S.J. Hart: Paintings and Prints, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
2006
Graveworks, Springer Cultural Center, Champaign, IL
2005
I lloutuve wyou too: paintings and drawings, IPRH, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
2004
Everyone I Work With, Millennium, Philadelphia, PA
2003
Figures: new paintings in acrylic, Grass Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002
Diptychs, Kelly Writers' House, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Walking Bone: new works on paper, Millennium, Philadelphia, PA
Group
2019
Furies, Fairies, Visionaries, New York, NY
Curator: Alice Gray Stites
2018
All Small 6, Sohn's Gallery, Bangor, ME
Out of The Box, Gitana Rosa Gallery, Art Factory Studios, Paterson, NJ
And Now For Something New, Vol. 1, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA
Quarterly Showcases, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2017
Holiday Show, The River Arts Gallery, Damariscotta, ME
All Small 5, Sohn's Gallery, Bangor, ME
Quarterly Showcases, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Digging Through the Fat Takes Bushwick, The Living Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Quarterly Showcases, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2015
Domesticated Animals in Space, Galerie Project, Brooklyn Fireproof, Brooklyn, NY
Quarterly Showcases, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Quarterly Showcases, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2011
Generations 8, AIR Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Wish You Were Here 10, AIR Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Goldfarb Retrospective, Silpe Gallery, Hartford Art School, West Hartford, CT
2008
Petite Choses: Small Works Show, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
Winter Show, Kasia Kay Art Projects, Chicago, IL
Winter Show, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
Hybrids & Other Sorts, BECA Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Scrupulosity, Contemporary Art Center, Peoria, IL
Animals in Your Kingdom, Micro Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2007
The Affair at the Jupiter, Portland Art Fair, Portland, ORG
Ink Shop at Cedar Arts, Cedar Arts Center, Corning, NY
2006
Birthday Suit, OPENSOURCE Art, Champaign, IL
2005
Nudes, Atlantic Works Gallery, East Boston, MA
Skinless Capital: Neoliberalism and Resistance, OPENSOURCE Art, Champaign, IL
My Body is My Billboard, OPENSOURCE Art, Champaign, IL
2003
Edible Art Show, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002
Project Mobilivre/Bookmobile Project Tour, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Edible Art Show, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001
Project Mobilivre/Bookmobile Project Tour, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Edible Art Show, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Online
2016
Artcast 002: Jonas Palzer & Summer Hart, Galerie Project
www.galerieproject.com
2015
Q & A Session, Bott & Co.
www.bottandco.com
Artist's Bibliography
Publications
2012
VOLUP 2 Magazine, ZEST, pages 274 - 279
www.volup2.com
2008
Studio Visit Magazine, Vol. 3, Exhibition in print, The Open Studios Press, Boston, MA
The House of Tate, Vol. 5
www.thehouseoftate.com
Studio Visit Magazine, Vol. 2, Exhibition in print, The Open Studios Press, Boston, MA
Residencies
2018
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Professional Affiliations
2019
Artist Member, InLiquid Art + Design, Philadelphia, PA
2012 - 2017
Artist Member, The Brooklyn Collective, Brooklyn, NY
2015
Artist Member, RAW: natural born artists
2006 - 2007
Printmaker Associate, The Ink Shop Printmaking Center, Ithaca, NY
2004 - 2006
Co-Director, OPENSOURCE Art, Champaign, IL
Education
2000
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
MFA, Book Arts/Printmaking
1997
The Hartford Art School, West Hartford, CT
BFA, Printmaking
