installation drawing video publications

amy (at) amystaceycurtis (dot) com

Amy Stacey Curtis (born 1970, Beverly, Massachusetts) is an installation artist focusing on participatory works. The Maine Arts Commission's 2005 and 2017 Individual Artist Fellow For Visual Art and the recipient of numerous grants including those from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Curtis has exhibited interactive art internationally.

Curtis initiates each of her works which are then perpetuated and resolved by audience. For each installation, Curtis instigates a desired vision through provided guidance. Then, by relinquishing these concepts to her collaborative audience, her work sometimes proceeds in unanticipated ways. These uncontrollable unknowns are likewise crucial components of her work.

From 1998 to 2016, Curtis completed an 18-year project, 9 solo-biennial exhibits of large-in-scope, interactive art in 9 vast mill spaces throughout Maine. In the end, Curtis mounted 81 participatory installations while cleaning by hand each historic space (averaging 25,000 square feet). Each solo biennial was a 22-month process exploring a different, predetermined theme, inviting audience to activate each exhibit's 9 unique works.

After Curtis's 18-year project was finished, she had been working toward new interactive projects for 5 weeks in her studio, when she was debilitated by a severe neurological illness. After 2 psychiatric wards, 15 months of unknowns, and the start of movement and speech disorders which would continue for 6 years, it was finally determined that Curtis had suffered a brain injury caused by never-treated Lyme Disease.

While progressing from wheelchair, to walker, to cane, to back to her feet, and moving forward with many new interactive concepts, Curtis's movement and speech deficits have greatly improved since learning how to play the ukulele---this hour-a-day activity now an important part of maintaining her life/art practices. Curtis lives and works from Lewiston, Maine.

EDUCATIONPDF

MA Art and Psychology, Vermont College of Norwich University, Montpelier, Vermont, 2000

BA Studio Art (Phi Beta Kappa, highest distinction), University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 1993

GRANTS AND AWARDS

2022 American Rescue Plan Maine Project Grant, SPACE Gallery

2021 Artist's Resource Trust, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Grant

2020 Project Grant for Artists, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2020 Maine Visual Artist Emergency Relief Grant, SPACE/The Kindling Fund

2020 Artist Relief Fund, Maine Arts Commission

2019 Project Grant for Artists, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2017 Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation Wynn Newhouse Award

2017 Project Grant for Artists, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2017 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Emergency Grant

2017 Maine Artist Fellowship, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2016 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant

2016 Project Grant for Artists, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2015 Kindling Fund Grant, SPACE Gallery

2014 Project Grant for Individual Artists, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2014 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2012 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant

2012 Artist's Resource Trust, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Grant

2011 Artists' Fellowship, Inc. Grant, New York, New York

2011 Change Inc. Grant, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

2011 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2009 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2009 Rebel Blend Fund, Coffee By Design

2007 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2005 Individual Artist Fellowship, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2005 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

2003 Good Idea Grant, Maine Arts Commission, supported by National Endowment for the Arts

1993 Ruth Stebbins and Edmund G. Schildknect Art Honor Award

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 Amy Stacey Curtis: The Color Of Memory, March 26-April 22, University of Southern Maine Artist-In-Residence exhibit, former Westbrook High School, Maine

2020 Amy Stacey Curtis: Swap, October 23-November 21, Engine, Biddeford, Maine

2020 Amy Stacey Curtis: Mirror, February 7-March 29, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

2020 Amy Stacey Curtis: Transfer, January 21-April 4, University of New Hampshire Museum of Art, Durham, New Hampshire

2019 One Wall, One Work: Amy Stacey Curtis, June 22-July 26, Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

2018 Time and Place, October 27-March 23, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

2016 MEMORY, September 17-October 28, Bates Mill Complex, Lewiston, Maine. 9th solo biennial

2015 Drawing Memory, August 1-22, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2014 MATTER, October 4-24, Robinson Mill, former Kezar Falls Woolen Company, Parsonsfield, Maine. 8th solo biennial

2014 Amy Stacey Curtis: Drawings, September 4-October 31, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, Maine

2013 Amy Stacey Curtis: 9 walks, October 3-January 5, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine

2013 Drawing Matter, October 2-November 2, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2012 SPACE, October 6-26, Winthrop Commerce Center, former Carlton Woolen Mill, Winthrop, Maine. 7th solo biennial

2012 27 Hours, May 27-July 7, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

2011 Perceiving Space, October 22-November 18, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2011 Amy Stacey Curtis: 270 Minutes, January 29, The Garage, San Diego, California

2010 TIME, October 9-28, Pepperell Mill, Biddeford, Maine. 6th solo biennial

2009 27 Minutes, 27 Hours, November 6-28, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2009 Amy Stacey Curtis: Sort, October 7-24, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts

2008 LIGHT, October 4-24, Sanford Mill, Sanford, Maine. 5th solo biennial

2007 Currents 4: Amy Stacey Curtis, November 15-April 13, 2008 Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine

2007 Lightwork, November 2-24, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2006 Biennial Paintings, November 9-December 14, Leonard R. Craig Art Gallery, Unity College, Unity, Maine

2006 SOUND, October 7-27, Lockwood Mill, Waterville, Maine. 4th solo biennial

2005 99 Sounds, November 4-26, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2004 CHANGE, October 9-27, Fort Andross, Brunswick, Maine. 3rd solo biennial

2003 Antecedent:Change, November 7-29, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2003 Please Start Here, October 10-November 11, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

2002 Amy Stacey Curtis, October 15-November 17, North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Maine

2002 MOVEMENT, October 12-26, Old Sebago Shoe Mill, Westbrook, Maine. 2nd solo biennial

2002 Ere Movement, May 3-4, Portland Stage Company, Portland, Maine

2000 EXPERIENCE, July 7-August 15, Bates Mill Complex, Lewiston, Maine. 1st solo biennial

2000 Thesis Exhibit, March 31-April 8, Vermont College of Norwich University, Montpelier, Vermont

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS/COLLABORATIONS

2022 You Take The Cake, September 24-October 30, Sarah Bouchard Gallery, Woolwich, Maine

2022 The Industrial Heart: Enterprise, Innovation, Creativity, February-December, Museum L-A, Lewiston, Maine

2022 Parts and Time (with Eleanor Antin, Bronlyn Jones, and Franz Erhard Walther), January 13-February 24, Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

2021 Inside and Outside the Box, September 1-October 31, Rock Row, Westbrook, Maine

2021 Op Hand (virtual version), June 1-30, interactive performative work in nine acts, with Anthony Bounphakhom and Philip Carlsen

2020 Nano: An exhibition of super-tiny works, February 8-March 22, Engine, Biddeford, Maine

2019 Temporality: The Process Of Time, November 2-February 23, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, Maine

2018 CMCA Biennial, November 3-March 3, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, Maine

2018 Wynn Newhouse Awards, April 23-June 7, Syracuse University Palitz Gallery, New York City

2017 Private Screening, October 10-December 10, Boston University Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts

2016 Interchange (3-person; with William Kentridge and Paul Herrmann), October 22-November 19, Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

2016 Six Weeks, in Time March 26-May 8, 2016, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington

2015 Maine Collected, June 21-March 26, 2016, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

2012 Vanguard, October 12-December 16, University of New England Art Gallery, Portland, Maine

2012 Arise (7-person), June 23-July 28, Barbara Krakow Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

2012 Light, Motion, Sound, May 1-June 17, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, Maine

2011 Emerging Dis/Order: Drawings by Amy Stacey Curtis, Alison Hildreth, and Andrea Sulzer, June 10-September 10, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine; October 6-November 5, 2011, University of Maine Farmington Gallery, Farmington, Maine

2010 Fuzzy Logic, April 9-June 17, Thompson Gallery, Cambridge School of Weston, Massachusetts

2009 Studio Walls, March 6-28, SPACE, Portland, Maine

2009 Black & White & Red, February 14-March 14, June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland, Maine

2009 Recent Acquisitions, January 23-March 30, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

2008 Drawn, September 4-October 8, Hans Weiss Newspace Gallery, Manchester, Connecticut

2008 The Crossing of Time and Environment, Outdoor Micro-Installations Exhibition, June 8-17, Toshei Village, Danei Township, Tainan County, and Tainan University of Technology, Taiwan

2007 New England Now, November 15th-January 11, Paper New England, Hartford, Connecticut

2007 Tiny, November 10-December 22, Whitney Art Works, Portland, Maine

2007 15th Anniversary Exhibition, August 3-30, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

2007 Soundmarks: New Work by NB Aldrich/Zach Poff and Amy Stacey Curtis, June 7-August 15, Art Interactive, Cambridge, Massachusetts

2007 Sound Exchange (two-person), January 5-February 24, Grothaus+Pearl Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2006 Road Movies, June 14, The LAB, San Francisco, California

2006 Signal and Noise, April 27-29, Video In Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

2006 Laterna Magica II: Video Art Festival, March 24-May 7, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts

2006 Activator, January 19-March 19, Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

2005 A New Order: Appropriation Art in the Digital Age, December 3-February 5, Montserrat College of Art Gallery, Beverly, Massachusetts

2005 Luminous Recurrence, December 1-January 9, Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, New Jersey

2004 Subterranean Angels, June 6-August 31, Revolving Museum LAB, Lowell, Massachusetts

2004 UMVA Annual, February 5-27, College of the Atlantic Blum Gallery, Bar Harbor, Maine

2003 ISC@GFS, International Sculpture Center Member Juried Exhibition, July 26-September 28, Grounds For Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey

2003 The Four Elements, June 15-August 31, Forest Hills Educational Trust, Boston, Massachusetts

2002 Terrain: Sculpture Today, March 9-April 24, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine

2000 H2O 2000: Water as a Theme in Art, June 6-July 30, T.W. Wood Art Gallery, Vermont College of Norwich University, Montpelier, Vermont

1997 Area Artists 1997, Lewiston-Auburn College, University of Southern Maine, Lewiston, Maine

1993 Senior Thesis Exhibit, Maine Coast Artists Gallery, Rockport, Maine

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY/MEDIA

2022 Eric Russell, Portland Press Herald, "Artist installation colors Westbrook gym," March 26

2020 Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, "She keeps making art while recovering from a 'terrifying' neurological disorder," February 14

2020 Bob Keyes, Portland Press Herald, "Managing her illness, artist Amy Stacey Curtis picks up her old pace," February 12

2020 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "An exhibition of small works is causing a big stir in Biddeford," February 24

2019 Daniel Kany, Portland Press Herald, "CMCA takes on the theme of time in series' latest show," Novebmer 17

2018 Bob Keyes, Portland Press Herald, "Battling Illnesses, Artist Amy Stacey Curtis Moves Forward with an Exhibition of Drawings," October 23

2018 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "What The Imposter Wants," March 25

2016 Lucinda Bliss, lucindasrunningblog, "The History of the Body," October 21

2016 Bill Donahue, Boston Magazine, "Chaos, Order, Repetition: How Artist Amy Stacey Curtis Brings Abandoned Mills to Life," September 29

2016 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Amy Stacey Curtis' exhibit at Bates Mill requires visitors to engage in Memory," September 18

2016 Nick Schroeder, Dispatch Magazine, "Exit Interview: Amy Stacey Curtis," September

2016 Jessica Skwire Routhier, Maine Women Magazine, "The Arts: Shining the spotlight on women artists nurtured by Maine," August

2016 Emily Burnham, Bangor Metro, "Monumental Work," July

2015 Christine Temin, Sculpture Magazine, "Planning The Last Biennial", December

2014 Nick Schroeder, The Portland Phoenix, "Any old town: Amy Stacey Curtis makes it Matter in rural Maine", October 11

2013 Jessica May, "Seeing Process," catalogue essay for Amy Stacey Curtis: 9 Walks, Portland Museum of Art

2013 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Artist invites us to walk with her," October 13

2012 Craig Stockwell, Art New England, "Deep Time: The Art of Amy Stacey Curtis," November/December

2012 Britta Konau, The Portland Phoenix, "Occupy, perceive, manipulate, and experience: Bodies in space," October 18

2011 Sebastian Smee, The Boston Globe, "Artists lay it on the line", August 19

2011 Taryn Plumb, Artscope, "Emerging Dis/Order: Drawings by Amy Stacey Curtis, Alison Hildreth, and Andrea Sulzer," July/August

2011 Daniel Kany, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Art Review: Wyeths, women at Bates illustrate power of drawing," July 24

2011 Susan Grisanti, Maine Home+Design, "Current Work," April

2010 Gillian Graham, Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier, "It's about time," October 14

2010 Annie Larmon, The Portland Phoenix, "Amy Stacey Curtis's Sixth Solo Biennial," October 12

2010 Tammy Wells, Journal Tribune, "Mill hosts perceptions of time," October 12

2010 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Time Zone", October 7

2010 Edgar Allen Beem, DownEast Magazine, "Art on the Edge," August

2010 Christine Temin, Art New England, "Seven Sculptors to Watch," June/July/August

2009 Philip Isaacson, Maine Sunday Telegram, "In the Arts: Area Artists show brimming with talent, energy", February 22

2008 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "LIGHT," October 19

2008 Maine Art Scene, Maine Arts & Culture Online Magazine, "Maine Artist Interview: Amy Stacey Curtis," October 18

2008 Andrea Rose, Weekly Observer, "Let There Be Light," October 15

2008 Chloe Johnson, The Wire, "Let There Be Light," October 9

2008 Renee Worthing, Sanford/Springvale Register, "Weekly Interview: Amy Stacey Curtis," September 25

2008 Nancy Heiser, PortCity Life, "Mill Work," September

2008 Elena Sarni, Big RED & Shiny, "Amy Stacey Curtis @ Sanford Mill", September 29

2008 Donna Landry, Journal Tribune/York County Weekend, "Aspects of Light," September 27-28

2008 "Maine Art Scene," on Maine Watch with Jennifer Rooks, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, February 8

2008 Elena Sarni, Artscope, "Currents4: Amy Stacey Curtis," January/February

2007 Ray Routhier, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Big, yet tiny," December 9

2007 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, Arts Dispatches: "Installation artist featured in annual Colby exhibition," November 18

2007 Matt Eagan, The Hartford Courant, "New England Art On Paper," November 15

2007 Ken Johnson, Boston Sunday Globe, Critics' Picks, "Now hear this," June 17

2007 Jacqueline Houton, Big RED & Shiny, "Soundmarks @ Art Interactive," June 13

2007 Ray T. Barker, The Pitch, Kansas City, "Sound Exchange," February 5

2006 Doug Harlow, Morning Sentinel, "Art as sound: Hear what you see," October 8

2006 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Interactive 'Sound' installed in old Waterville plant," October 1

2006 Amy Calder, Morning Sentinel, "Art on a grand scale," August 28

2006 Chris Thompson, The Portland Phoenix, "Retooled," February 2

2005 Michael Townsend, The Bollard, "99 pictures of sound on the wall," November 9

2005 Rich McKown, Art New England, February/March

2005 Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, "When the lines blur," January 7

2004 Discovering Advanced Algebra: An Investigative Approach, Key Curriculum Press; fragile (from EXPERIENCE, 2000) introduces chapter about matrices and linear equations

2004 Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times, "A show where light is very heavy," December 19

2004 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "You're invited to help artist create," October 17

2004 Chris Thompson, Portland Magazine, "The Shape of Things," September

2004 Chris Thompson, The Portland Phoenix, "Risky Business: Visual art's a great gamble this fall," September 17

2004 Sam Pfeifle, The Portland Phoenix, "Portland's Most Influential (Women)," August 13

2004 Maine Times, "Eight Experts Focus on the Year Ahead: Curtain Rises on New Talents and Venues," January

2004 Maggie Knowles, The Portland Phoenix, "The Touchables: Hands-on in SPACE," January 23

2003 Burt Wasserman, Prime Time, "Meeting the third dimension," September, Art Views

2003 Benjamin Genocchio, The New York Times, "A show with a good sense of humor," August 10

2003 Christine Temin, The Boston Globe, "Cemetery branches out with subtle, site-specific artwork," July 20

2002 Chris Thompson, The Portland Phoenix, "Your own risk," October 17

2002 Bob Keyes, Maine Sunday Telegram, "Movement invites viewers to play," October 13

2002 Chris Thompson, The Portland Phoenix, "The art of raw," May 2

2002 Jason Wilkins, Casco Bay Weekly, "Moving art: Local artist's latest venture combines movement with the psyche," May 2

2002 Jenna Russell, The Portland Phoenix, "On solid ground: The ICA's 'Terrain' provides sculpture that explores," March 22

2002 Phil Isaacson, Maine Sunday Telegram, "No doubt about it, sculpture show sizzles," March 17

CURATORIAL

2007 Sound Exchange, January 5-February 24, Grothaus+Pearl Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

2004 Touch, January 9-February 27, SPACE, Portland, Maine

2003 Women, Trauma, & Visual Expression, October 17-November 13, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2022 Artist-In-Residence, January-April, University of Southern Maine, Gorham, Maine

2018 Panelist, Art and Mental Health Symposium, Charles Danforth Gallery, University of Maine, Augusta, Maine

2011-2017 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Intermedia MFA Program, University of Maine, Orono, Maine

2016 Visiting Artist, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire

2016 Visiting Artist, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts

2015 Visiting Artist, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

2013 Visiting Artist, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

2012 Visiting Artist, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine

2012 Visiting Artist, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

2011 Visiting Artist, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine

2010 Visiting Artist, Intermedia MFA Program, University of Maine, Orono, Maine

2009 Visiting Artist, Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine

2009 Visiting Artist, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine

Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine

Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, Maine

Paper New England, Hartford, Connecticut

Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine

University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, Maine

GALLERY REPRESENTATION

Krakow Witkin Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

Sarah Bouchard Gallery, Woolwich, Maine


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