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 in large works as part of man’s use of the park. The small 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 has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Drawing Center in NYC. 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 and her work appears in many publications, books and catalogues, including Twentieth Century Watercolors, Abbeville Press; Art and Cartography, Art Institute of Chicago. 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. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Harfnarborg Art Museum in Iceland and in 2024, did a residency at Chateau Orqumaux in Chamont, France. From 2012-2024, she was the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Illinois.
© Beth Shadur