My work is a direct expression of my innate curiosity. I learned to see through an abstract lens while studying physics and math, and so it was a natural progression for me to express my views of the world abstractly. When painting, I use non-regular geometries and the interplay of colors, shapes and lines to map my experiences onto the two dimensional plane to elicit movement and emotion.
I often construct interactive projects and installations using material directly sourced from people and communities with whom I come in contact. This can be in the form of a questionnaire hand bound into a book, submissions on my website used to engrave glass globes, or video statements about women presidents. Sometimes I find objects that express my views better than words and so they become a three dimensional painting such as a mural made from glass test tubes. I am forever reaching into new mediums whether it be book binding, glass globes and test tubes, writing IR video games or weaving tapestries. But even as my curiosity leads me in new directions painting remains the core of my studio practice.
Denise Philipbar is a painter and installation artist who blends the power of nature with her understanding of science and technology. Working with topics such as the panopticon as metaphor or how technology and nature collide, her installations ask viewers to question how they interact with their own experiences in our current technological landscape. Her paintings explore the formal aspects in the two dimensional plane through abstraction and process disregarding any direct references to subject matter.
Philipbar learned to paint at the Art Students League of Denver after completing a bachelors and a masters in Mathematics from the University of Colorado. She holds an MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
2012
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
MFA, Painting
1996
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
MA, Mathematics
1993
University of Colorado, Denver, CO
BS, Mathematics, Magna Cum Laude
2018
The Ultimate Guide to Game Development with Unity, Udemy
2017
Forearms of Steel, Advanced Screen Printing Techniques, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Quick and Dirty Screen Printing, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA
Collograph, Printing with Texture, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA
2015
Etching and Intaglio Techniques, Discover Graphics Atelier, Alexandria, VA
2014
Printmaking Projects and Techniques, Discover Graphics Atelier, Alexandria, VA
2013
Jumpstart to Printmaking, Discover Graphics Atelier, Alexandria, VA
2014
Contemporary Artist Center at Woodside, Troy, NY, USA
Old Furnace Artist Residency, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA
2013
Mecklenburg Inspiriert, International Artist Residency, Kühlungsborn, Germany
2014
Robinson, E. Brady "Low-Residency MFA Programs," Professional Artists’ Magazine, August/September 2014
2013
"Denise Philipbar’s Conscious Evolution," Intercom, June 3, 2013
Collum, James "Art, Arithmetic and Life: Meet Workhouse Artist Denise Philipbar," Lorton Patch, May 8, 2013
Ostsee Zeitung, Zehn Kuenstler aus fuenf Nationen stellen im Rahmen von “Mecklenburg Inspiriert” in der Kunsthalle aus
2011
“West Collection: 6:6; Six Concurrent West Collection Exhibitions, Six Curatorial Teams From University of the Arts,” University of the Arts, August, 2011
2010
Bedell Natalie "FIRSTfriday of F.C.’s New ArtALot, ‘Cruise-In’ Event Debuts Friday" Falls Church News Press, Falls Church, VA, May 5, 2010
2013
Visiting Critic, MFA-Studio Arts Program, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2010 - 2012
Instructor, Painting and Drawing, Falls Church Arts Foundation, Falls Church, VA
2002 - present
Private Instructor, Painting and Drawing
1999 - 2000
Instructor, Beginning Throwing on the Wheel, Roundtree Art Center, Denver, CO
2015
Divided Dimensions, Oakview National Bank, Marshal, VA
2014
Fragmented Reality, Blick Art Materials, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Conscious Evolution, Fisher Gallery at the Schlesinger Center, Alexandria, VA
2012
deNatured, Gallery 224 and Rosenwald Wolfe Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Hatch, InLiquid at Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
Devon Design Center, Devon, PA
2018
Into the Light, Rail Park Benefit, Bridget Meyer Gallery and Arts and Crafts Holdings, Philadelphia, PA
I‘m at A Loss, Curtis Building, Philadelphia, PA
Interact/Integrate, VisArts, Rockville, MD
2017
InLiquid Benefit, Crane Arts Bldg., Philadelphia, PA
Local Engagement, Awbury Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA
Art for the Cash Poor, InLiquid, Crane Arts Bldg., Philadelphia, PA
2016
140 years of Making It, Hamilton Hall Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
TYPECAST, Hillyer Art Space, Washington, DC
2015
Featured Artist for November, Broadway Gallery, Alexandria, VA
Featured Artist for October, Broadway Gallery, Great Falls, VA
Emerging Artists Exhibition, The Drawing Room Gallery, Cos Cob, CT
2014
Within the Foreground Invitational, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Making it, Hamilton and Arronson Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
Welcome to Wonderland, artdc Gallery, Hyattsville, MD
2013
Neuro-Diversity Project, Studio 4, Old Town, Alexandria, VA
Equality: A Show of Pride 2013 (Benefiting Fairfax Pride, Studio 4, Old Town, Alexandria, VA
Studio 4 Artists, Vulcan Gallery, Lorton, VA
Incarceration: Visions of Confinement, McGuire Woods Gallery: SoloSpace, Lorton, VA
Exhibition with the Artists in Residence from the Kunstverein Mecklenburg Inspiriert Residency, Kunsthalle Ostseebad Kühlungsborn, Kühlungsborn, Germany
2012
All at Once, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Painting Ain’t Dead, Gallery 817, Philadelphia, PA
The Italian Way: A Response to Italian Arts & Culture, Gallery 224, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Work in Progress, Hamilton Hall, Philadelphia, PA
2010
WIP, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Artomatic 2009, Washington, DC
2011
6:6, Hyper-Space, West Collection, Oaks, PA
with Harry Hukkinen
