As a native West Virginian, my work explores Appalachian themes that relate to the contemporary and historical environmental state of the region and its ties to overlooked people, places, and cultural schisms. Because of my academic background, my practice is research and narrative driven to create work that resonates cross-generationally and that reflects the cyclical nature of history but is deeply archival. I incorporate discarded items like vintage photos, thrifted clothing, and found objects from my personal history into the medium of painting and installation transposed more recently with activated technology. My work is a hybrid craft practice that both honors Appalachia’s history of craftwork by repurposing and reusing sewn and painted mementos, in tandem with the environmental urgency of the region to give agency to its relationship to extraction. I constantly strive to represent the unspoken and pay homage to the diversity of Appalachia people, from coalminers to snake charmers, craftsmen, mountaineers, musicians, and shamans; playing the role of caretaker and storyteller to those that are overshadowed by regional stereotypes, poverty, and ecological exploitation. Through the traditions of Appalachian art and craft combined with portraiture, I hope to reconstruct the importance of the cultural presence that permeates society but is rarely recognized.
Artist CV
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Into the Mountains, William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, VA
2019
Appalachian Spring: A Solo Show, Buxton and Landstreet Gallery, Thomas, WV
2018
Appalachian Spring: A Solo Show, Union Arts Center, Sparkill, NY / Taylor Books, Charleston, WV
2015
Fabric of History: New Works by Ali Printz, Gallery Rene Mele New York, NY
Fellowships/Grants/Artist Residencies
2023-2024
Terra Foundation Curatorial Fellow, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Library Company of Philadelphia and Historical Society of Pennsylvania
2022-2023
Tyson Scholar, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
2021 -2022
William H. Truettner Fellowship, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Center for Curatorial Leadership/Mellon Foundation Seminar Intensive
2020
Casa Lü Parque Hundido Residency Artist Residency, Mexico City, MX
Buxton and Landstreet Gallery Artist Residency, Thomas, WV
2019
Center for American Art /Decorative Arts Trust (DAT) Summer Research Grant, Philadelphia, PA
Emerging Curators Retreat at Otis College of Arts and Design, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Vytlacil Residency, Art Students League of New York, Sparkill, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022
Tangled Roots: Exploring Appalachian Feminisms, The Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center, Lexington, KY
2021
Du-Good, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2020
Appalachian Extraction, in collaboration with Ernie Roby-Tomic, Buxton and Landstreet Gallery, Thomas, WV
Captura Temporal, Casa Lü, Parque Hundido, Mexico City, Mexico
2017
Debtfair, Occupy Museums, Whitney Biennial 2017, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (catalogue)
Postcards from the Edge: Visual AIDS, Metro Pictures New York, NY
CitySeats, A public art project with the NY Yankees at Yankee Stadium
2016
Inclusion in Lele Saverni’s “The Newsstand,” as part of Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015 Museum of Modern Art New York, NY
Sing for Hope Pianos Project 2016, New York, NY
The Deeply Flawed Human, exhibition book release, Court Street Collective Brooklyn, NY (catalogue)
Flint Force of Nature: Benefitting Flint Child Health & Development Fund, Brooklyn, NY
Now Be Here #2, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn. NY
2015
Making History Exhibition and Arts in Bushwick Benefit, Storefront Ten Eyck Brooklyn, NY (catalogue)
2014
Bushwick Open Studio Benefit, Storefront Ten Eyck, Brooklyn, NY
Great Laws of Peace, Gallery Rene Mele New York, NY
Faberge Big Egg Hunt, New York, NY (catalogue)
2013
Artes Martes presents MACHETE, Tantalo Hotel, Panama City, Panama
Will Art For Food: A solo show, NewYorkKillsArtists, Bar Matchless, Brooklyn, NY
I Have a Dreamcast, presented by NewYorkKillsArtists, Bar Matchless, Brooklyn, NY
Burnt Reynolds, presented by NewYorkKillsArtists, Loft 594 Brooklyn, NY
Animorphs, presented by The Culture Whore, House of Yes, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Neonslaught, presented by NewYorkKillsArtists Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY
Education
Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, 2017-present
PhD Candidate: specialization in Modern and Contemporary Appalachian Art
Sotheby’s Institute of Art/University of Manchester, UK, 2010-2012
MA in Contemporary Art
West Virginia University, 2003-2009
BA in Art History/BFA in Painting
Artist Bibliography
New American Painting #154 South Edition. June/July 2021.
Lew, Christopher and Mia Locks. The Whitney Biennial Catalogue. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2017, 156-7.
Starry Night Programs. Artists to Look Out For, Truth of Consequences, New Mexico: Starry Night Programs, 2016, 68.
Vieira, Cibele and Aniela Coveleski, eds. Arts in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY: Arts in Bushwick, 2016, 375.
Callihan, Nicole. The Deeply Flawed Human, New York: Smith & Jones, 2016, 13-14.
Beazley, Anoushka. Fabergé presents The Big Egg Hunt New York. New York: Fabergé, 2014, 35.
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