Portrait of Pamela Crockett
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Pamela Crockett

About the Artist

Pamela Crockett                                    Web: pamelacrockett.com                                           Email: pamelacrockett.art@gmail.com Studio: 3500 Parkdale Ave. Ste. 4A,                           Phone: (410) 823-8058 Baltimore, MD 21211                                                            Pamela Crockett is best known for her large-scale oil paintings of small, natural decaying objects in active environments. In them, she imbues inanimate objects with life, and her attention to texture invites the viewer for a closer look. A former fellow in residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and recipient of the Olssen Faculty Incentive Award, Pamela has been teaching art and painting since receiving her Master of Fine Arts and Masters of Arts degrees from the University of Iowa in 1991. Teaching positions include Mt. St. Mary’s College, Loyola University, Notre Dame of Maryland University, McDaniel College, St. Timothy’s School, and the University of Iowa.  She maintains an artist studio in the Woodberry neighborhood of Baltimore, and her work appears widely in collections across the U.S. Recent solo exhibitions include the Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia, DC, and the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD. Two-person exhibits include Kirkland Arts Center in New York and the Howard County Arts Council in Ellicott City. EDUCATION 1991             M. F. A. University of Iowa, IA City, IA 1990             M.A. University of Iowa, IA City, IA 1976             B.A. Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONSUpcoming, September 2020, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MDDance of Decay, April – May 2019, Honfleur Gallery, Washington, DC Two-Person Show, April - May 2019, Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, NYPamela Crockett Solo, Nov. – Dec. 2018, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MDEveryday Relics, 2018, Howard County Arts Council, Columbia, MDNoisy Se Butsu: Active Still Life, Hannah More Arts Center, Stevenson, MDUnveiling, Carroll County Arts Council, Westminster, MDBeyond the Pane: Mixed Media Window Paintings, Loyola University, MDIn the Wings, Gormley Gallery, College of Notre Dame, Baltimore, MDPrints and Drawings, Gallery One, McDaniel College, Westminster, MDImagery and Installation, University of Iowa, Museum of Art, Iowa CityDrawings, Checkered Space, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONSCity of Alexandria: Art Purchase Awards, 2019, Alexandria, VAHill Center Galleries, 2019, Washington, DC, juror Caitlin BerryMid Atlantic New Painting 2018, U of Mary Washington, VA, juror, Kimberli GantA Different Vision, 2019, Plymouth Center for the Arts, Plymouth, MA Center for Contemporary Art, 2018, Bedminster, NJ, juror, Midori YoshimotoAmerica Now, 2018, Providence Art, Providence, RI, juror, Elliot Bostwick DavisHill Center Galleries, 2017, Washington, DC, juror Claude ElliottMicro/Macro, 2017, Sulfur Studios, Savannah, GAPaper in Particular,  2017, Columbia College, Columbia, MOAbstracts Matter, 2017, Gallery 311, Raleigh, NC, juror Don MertzSpectrum, 2017, Cade Gallery, Anne Arundel, MD, juror Justin StromPaperworks 2016, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY, juror Heidi HirschlAbsolutely Abstract, 2016, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PAPrimar(i)ly Red, 2016, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NYTexas National 2016, Stephen F. Austin University, TX, juror Abelardo MorellRepurpose, 2016, Core New Art Space, Lakewood COWings from Chains, 2016, Athenaeum Gallery, Alexandria, VAAbstract Art: 2016, Art League of Lincoln, CA, juror, Celena Polena.Abstraction: Diverted Reality, 2016, Evelyn Jorgenson Gallery, Moberly, MOWomen’s Works, 2016, Old Courthouse Gallery, Woodstock, ILTactile, 2016, Visual Art Exchange, Raleigh, NC, juror Tom PurseyMember’s Show, Towson Arts Collective, Towson, MDFaculty Biennial, Julio Fine Arts Gallery, Loyola University, Baltimore, MDAll in the Family, Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore, MDMAEA Exhibition, Howard County Arts Council, Columbia, MD Kansas City Arts Institute, Kansas City, MOInvitational Exhibition, Falconer Gallery, Grinnell, IAPainting ’94, Arlington Arts Center, VA, curator Donald KuspitHistoric Savage Mill Exhibit, Savage Mill, MD, curator Jack RasmussenSchool 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MDStrictly Painting, McLean Project for the Arts, McLean, VAJuried Exhibition, Resurgam Gallery, Baltimore, MDNational Works on Paper, Marsh Gallery, Richmond, VA, curator Charlotte KotikPainting, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PAGroup Exhibition, Katzenstein Gallery, Baltimore, MDAnnual Art Exhibition, Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NYQuad Cities Regional Showcase, Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IAGroup Exhibition, Iowa City Art Gallery, Iowa City, IATullahoma Arts, Best in Show, Tullahoma, TN PUBLICATIONS/REVIEWS/RESIDENCIESThe Washington Post “Where the celestial meets the nitty-gritty,” Gallery Review, Mark Jensen, May 10, 2019 Director, “International Fashion Show of Wearable Art,” featured with the exhibit El Anatsui, Gawu at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Fellow in Residence, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Mt. San Angelo, VA “Design, Culture, and Aesthetics Come Together,” Pamela Crockett, Scholastic Arts Magazine Olssen Faculty Incentive Award, 2010, St. Timothy’s School, Stevenson, MDBaltimore City Paper, “Critic’s Choice: Exhibits,” Eileen Murphy Summer residency, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MOCarroll County Times Review, “Pigments of the Imagination,” Amanda KnittleThe Baltimore Sun, Arts and Entertainment, “Preview”The Baltimore Sun, “Resurgam Reflects Accomplishment,” John Dorsey Artist-in-Residence, Nashville Children’s Theatre, TN

Pamela Crockett website View Website

Artist's Statement

DANCE of DECAY Intrigued by decomposing pods, unraveling bulbs, and dried aquatic fragments, I study their patterns and textures. Back in the studio I view them dissected under a magnifying glass. Their patterns of decay echo the invisible forces controlling their movement. Paradoxically these delicate remains of life reflect both the fragility and the vitality of the earth and its oceans. These paintings contain my fears and my hopes in response to our current climate- changing, socio-political, and geographic-global movements. The earth I have always depended on is undergoing dramatic change. And yet, the patterns of decay are constantly surprising me. The somewhat oxymoronic nature of the terms “still life” and “nature morte” seem appropriate in my observation. For me, even decaying life is active, and dead nature lives. Ambiguity of space in these paintings suggests that what is inside can seem larger than the container itself. My attempts to contain a greater space within a smaller are reminiscent of the tiny, winged casing of the maple seedling that contains the potential for an entire tree. The borders hold the objects; yet most of them cannot help but push outside these boundaries or spill back inside the frames. Making use of the seedlings, nuts, and bulbs I have collected in the studio, I often dip them in paint and use them to create the textures in the borders. The driving forces behind the images are rhythm and movement. I imagine that as a leaf falls from a tree, when it swirls and twists in its dance of decay, it gets only one shot to make its descent memorable.

Featured Work

Photos

This drooping Rhododendron bloom reminded me of the delicate balance in our endangered surroundings. Its delicate remains reflect my hope in the resiliency of nature over the destructive forces acting upon it.
(Uniola Paniculata) Inspiration for this image comes from a small, decayed root of the sea oat found in the dunes of the Atlantic Ocean. The plant is highly adaptable to harsh environments. Because of its flexibility in high winds, it does not break, and the deep roots (sometimes eight feet in all directions) capture sand, helping to reduce erosion. In addition to the role they play in protecting the sand dunes and maintaining beach ecology, the oats contain important nutrients for feeding area wildlife. The unraveling pattern of one tiny root reminded me of the delicate balance in our endangered surroundings.
The subject of this painting is at once small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and large enough to exist outside our planet. The background is based on cloud formations around Jupiter, and the purple bladder shape comes from Sargassum seaweed common in the Atlantic Ocean. Its air-filled bladder is helpful in keeping the plant afloat, providing food for ocean life and birds. At the time I was painting the image, the East Coast was experiencing major flood damage from hurricanes, and the West Coast was undergoing fire damage out of control. Both crises appear in the image in the form of turbulence controlling the seaweed and its hollow pods.
In the ecosystem of vibrancy, something decays. The process of decay is a symphony in which the various agents play their parts. The order in which it occurs is important. Rotting wood, sun, rain, wind, and insects all have their instrumental part to play. In searching for the natural patterns of decay, I am noticing dead plants are not stagnant, but fully animated.
While observing a tiny decayed Magnolia pod, I completed a group of drawings and began this painting. The pattern made by the curving strings around the pod suggested to me its skeletal remains. Going back to the source of the pod, I found a new pod, without any apparent string shapes. During the course of the painting, sections of the new pod began to open and expel red seeds attached by white gossamer strings, similar to spider web strands. The combination of tensile strength and flexibility provided the perfect balance for completing their mission. The white strings on the dried Magnolia pod represented not the skeleton, but the passage of time in the system of regeneration. Observation of inanimate objects like the magnolia pod offers me the challenge to imbue them with movement and activity.
Dried fish served as the model for this painting. As they headed toward rot, the colors of the anchovies became more iridescent. I tried to replicate this shimmering through layers of translucent oil paints.