Dunlap
| Artist Bio
"This seam undone. Dispensing rivulets of molten ink…
it is life’s constructed order and its unpredictable madness; it is seams and ink; it is both hidden and seen."
-Christine Dunlap
Christine Dunlap is an American Artist currently residing in Ellensburg, Washington. She was born in Bremerhaven, Germany in 1985 and grew up in a military family with both a German and American background. She always had a passion for art and was self-taught from a young age but did not pursue a career in art until after being married to her husband Chase Dunlap and having two children. It was in 2015 that she decided to go to Central Washington University and work towards a BFA in Studio Art with a Minor in Creative Writing. She has shown in several exhibitions in Kittitas county as well a student group show at the Seattle Art Museum. Her main focus of medium is Oils but also works with many types of mixed media.
Christine has always been fascinated with Victorian era history and the ideals expressing the hidden self within period literature. Combining her written and painted works, she explores the idea of the hidden self in correlation to literature of the 19th century. Her most recent and continuing body of work “Seams and Ink” elaborates on these ideals in a more contemporary style, focusing on the concepts of duality and the ambiguous nature of the self.
| Artist Statement
This seam undone. Dispensing rivulets of molten ink… My work uses both real and imagined symbolism to unpack the layers of the hidden self; one that teeters on the edge of reality and surrealism. My work represents the instability of the psychological self, stitched into repression by a socially constructed world and spilling forth in something not quite blood but just as vital. It is the soul; it is the darkest corners of our mind; it is the true self in all its vulnerabilities.
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My primary medium is oils, with its richness and versatility, it can be manipulated and built upon in countless layers to develop a depth no other medium can. My figures are tightly rendered thru many glazes to highlight that the self is always a constant. While the surroundings are dissolved in washes of mineral spirits or obscured by the feathering of a brush, both are controlled and unpredictable. The drips act as an erasure to the figure, an illusion of fraying apart. It is the two natures of life: order and madness. While my mixed media works are often layered with various cut papers that incorporate different drawing and painting processes. The resulting transformation of layering the images is not always what I anticipated. The unpredictability of the process is not dissimilar to the layers of the psychological self; both hidden and seen.
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My recent Stitched works are representative of a metaphorical hemming that maps the body and is not to be confused with sutures. It is meant to be hidden and seen. This becomes a confinement and a self-made cage, one that gives the appearance of normality in society or to conceal the parts of the self that one might want hidden. Although my work is born from personal experiences, it is not my intent to gives those away. My figurative images are composed in such a way to remain ambiguous and allow for the viewer to develop their own interpretation. This has opened doors to places outside of myself and into the stigmas of society; it is life’s constructed order and its unpredictable madness; it is seams and ink
| Artist C.V.
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Christine Dunlap
Address: Ellensburg, WA | Email: ChristineDunlapArt@gmail.com
Website: https://www.christinedunlap.com/ | Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineDunlapArt
Education
2020 - B.F.A. Studio Art, distinction in Oil painting and Minor in Creative Writing, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Awards/Scholarships
2020 - Rachel Kirk Drawing/Works on Paper Award, Senior Social Media Exhibition, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2020 - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery Award for studio art, 2020 Senior Social Media Exhibition, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Student Union Purchase Award, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2018 - C. Farrell Scholarship of Research and Fine Arts, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2017 - Provost’s Award, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2017 - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery Award, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2016 - Shane L. Johnson; Illustrative Narrative Award, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Exhibitions
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Solo Exhibition:
2019 - Gallery 231, Hidden Self, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2018 - Provost’s Gallery, A Brief Moment, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Group Exhibition:
2020 - Gallery One, Kittitas County Juried Show, Ellensburg, WA
2020 - Senior Social Media Exhibition, Web, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Femme Locale, 420 Gallery, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Gallery One, Kittitas County Juried Show, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Office of Student Success Gallery, Remnants, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Nook Gallery, Student Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2019 - SURC, Surreal Reveries, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2018- Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Student Art Show, Central Washington, Ellensburg, WA
2017 - Gallery one, Student Show, Ellensburg, WA
2017 - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
2016 - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery, Student Art Show, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Publications
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Print Media
2019 - CWU hosting art walk on Thursday, Daily Record, Ellensburg, WA. Web. April 23, 2019.
https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/inbrief/cwu-hosting-art-walk-on-thursday/article_4e06dd8a-d39f-5824-b0bf-b14290aa99c1.html
2019 - Exhibit features meet the artist event on April 2, Daily Record, Ellensburg, WA, March 27, 2019. Print and web.
https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/exhibit-features-meet-the-artist-event-on-april/article_9b4332ef-ec92-5dc3-9df5-d16d8d2f2d61.html
2017 - “Student artist to debut exhibition in new gallery at CWU”, Daily Record, Ellensburg, WA, October 23, 2017.
https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/inbrief/student-artist-to-debut-exhibition-in-new-gallery-at-cwu/article_08541653-370a-53b5-99c2-c8a296771b81.html
Online News Media
2019 - CWU presents an Art Walk on April 25, CWU News, April 23, 2019. Web. https://www.cwu.edu/node/116154
2017 - New Provost's Gallery Features Student's Distinctive Talent, CWU News, October 20, 2017. Web.
http://www.cwu.edu/new-provosts-gallery-features-students-distinctive-talent
2017 - Oct. 25 // Artist Reception // Christine Dunlap; A Brief Moment, CWU Activities. October 25, 2017. CWU. Web.
https://www.cwu.edu/campus-notices/oct-25-artist-reception-christine-dunlap
Blogs
2019 - Pat Muir. "SCENE" 5 Things to Do This Weekend, (blog). March 28, 2019.
https://www.yakimaherald.com/scene/things-to-do-this-weekend-march/article_b432af24-5109-11e9-b56c-43784a1f423f.html
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Talks/Presentations
2019 - SOURCE, The Hidden Self, My Speaker Session, Poster Session 2- Arts and Humanities, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.
Collections
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Student Union Art Collection, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.
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CWU Art Collection, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.
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