ARTIST STATEMENT
My work has of late addressed the fragility of those places that we consider sacred and pristine. This work has led me to do residencies in Ireland, Banff, and Iceland, and has allowed me to work on pieces that address the human impact on the most remote and exquisite of environments. Climate change, industry, tourism and pollution have threatened places that once were considered wild and remote. The newest series is based on the National Parks, addressing the impact of the National Park designation on First Nation peoples and on local communities. The history of each park is considered as part of man’s use of the park. Rare and threatened plant and animal species are also depicted. The works also present the beauty of the natural environment in various iconic landscapes. These works are meant to remind us of our responsibility as global citizens to care for our planet and our sacred spaces.
For many years, my work has addressed the fragility of nature, and reflected my vast love for nature. It is only with strong attention to our human impact that we can reverse what are dangerous trends; we must take action now before it is too late.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Beth Shadur is an artist who has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Drawing Center in New York City; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio; and at the Colorado Springs Art Museum, Colorado Springs, CO. She has created over 150 large public murals as public, private and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain. She has taught and served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities, including Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO; and as a visiting artist and scholar at Paradise Valley Community College in Scottsdale, AZ. Shadur’s work appears in many publications, books and catalogues, including Twentieth Century Watercolors, Abbeville Press. As an educator, Shadur has lectured widely on community arts in both the United States and abroad.
She has curated numerous national exhibitions, including the ongoing ‘The Poetic Dialogue Project’, which has traveled throughout the United States. Collaborative Vision: The Poetic Dialogue Project, featuring collaborative works by pairs of poets and artists, was exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center from January-April 2009, and traveled to various university galleries. Shadur has been awarded numerous Ragdale Fellowships and is a Thomas Watson Fellow from Brown University; from 2004-6, she served as Executive Director of ARC Gallery, Chicago. She participated in the Cool Globes Public Art Project in Chicago in 2007, and in 2008, was Artist-in-Residence at the Burren College of Art in Ireland through a Governor’s Award for International Arts Exchange from the Illinois Arts Council. In 2013, Shadur was a fellow at the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Alberta, Canada. In 2016, she was awarded a residency at the Harfnarborg Art Center in Harfnarjardur, Iceland. Since 2012, Shadur serves as the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL. In 2016, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Museum. Her work is owned in many private and public collections.
© Beth Shadur