#wip
2019 Work In Progress Cohort Exhibition
Opening Reception
#wip punctuates Amplify’s 2019 Work In Progress program with an exhibition featuring work from cohort artists Travis Apel, Elizabeth Boutin, Anne Dovali, Holly Kranker and Tyler Swain. Opening at Petshop on February 7th, 2020, #wip assesses the generative qualities of experimentation, failure, and self-reflection with work that speaks directly to the process of reexamining, reformatting and re-contextualizing individual studio practices.
Work In Progress or “wip” is a year-long program that provides a platform to artists of all disciplines working actively to develop and maintain a critically engaged practice. Curators, critics, and educators working actively in their field serve as program facilitators who encourage discussion and provide critical feedback through monthly studio visits and group critique. #wip brings together work from each 2019 Work In Progress cohort member to scrutinize the process of creative risk taking, rolling the dice and letting them land where they may.
Free and open to the public. This exhibition is presented in partnership with BFF Omaha
About the Artists:
Travis Apel: Travis Apel is a 1994 Missouri Silver Scholarship recipient from Kansas City Art Institute, and was honored through Omaha Creative Institute and Mid-America Arts Alliance for professional development and to present as a 2014 Artist INC Fellow, and he was selected for a Friends of UNO Artslam+ presentation in 2015. Apel has focused his work through artist residencies at BarkerArt Hot Shops Art Center in, Kimmel Harding Nelson Arts Center in, El Museo Latino, and Mary Our Queen Catholic School. He is a Best 3D Artist nominee through the 2018 Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards.
Elizabeth Boutin: Elizabeth Boutin was born in February of 1968 and is originally from Idaho. Her journey as a military spouse has taken her to several places across the globe since 1996 until 2014. During that year her husband retired from the Air Force and the family has since settled in Bellevue, Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha with a Bachelors of Art in Art History, and a Bachelors of Fine Art in oil painting. Elizabeth loves the outdoors and goes camping often. Her three kids entertain her with fulfilling their goals in their own lives. Elizabeth decided to be serious about becoming an artist during her journeys as a military spouse. She became inspired by her travels across the globe and the life experiences she endured during those times. Working predominantly in painting, she uses oil paint on canvas because of its luminous qualities and depth of color. Elizabeth’s experiences in the military and passion for the outdoors have helped influence her work. Using recognizable imagery in her work, she strives to show a deeper meaning behind both her subjects and issues passionate to her (such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). When Elizabeth is creating her art, she focuses on bringing out her voice, emotions, and responses to the realm around her. Elizabeth lives in Bellevue, Nebraska and currently works in Omaha, Nebraska.
Anne Dovali: Anne Dovali’s work examines the interdependencies of fable, myth, oral tradition, and western religious cosmology. Borrowing from sacred iconography, fairy tales, and highly stylized Baroque painting, Dovali's work appropriates traditional depictions of religious rituals and customs to reveal the porous exchange between power, belief, and fantasy. Most recently, geographical landforms and natural phenomena experienced by Dovali during hikes, camping trips, and visits to U.S. National Parks inform concept and construction in her new work. Dovali received a BFA in painting from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In 2016 she was published nationally in New American Paintings. She has exhibited at Project Project, Maple St. Construct, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, and other Omaha galleries. She has an upcoming residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center in Nebraska City and a forthcoming show at Amplify Art’s Generator Space. She currently lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska.
Holly Kranker: Holly Kranker is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice uses a variety of mediums to examine our sense of place, personal memory, and efforts to suspend moments in time. Born and raised in Kansas, Kranker graduated Summa Cum Laude earning a BFA with an emphasis in Commercial Art and Interior Design from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. She currently lives and works in Omaha, Nebraska, and joined the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in 2013 as the Residency Program Manager where she is responsible for all activities related to the organization’s international Artist-in-Residence program. Prior to joining Bemis Center, she was the studio manager and lead assistant to renowned glass sculptor, Therman Statom. Kranker has most recently exhibited at the Joslyn Art Museum and has received awards from the Birger Sandzèn Memorial Gallery in contemporary metal craft, George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in photography, and has work included in the National Park Foundation-Lewis and Clark Historic Trail permanent collection. She was an artist-in-residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE in 2018, and recent sculpture program artist mentor at Kent Bellows Mentoring Program.
Tyler Swain: Tyler Swain is a mixed media and installation artist from North Platte Ne, living and working in Omaha Ne. Although the vast majority of his art training is in theater, he developed a love of tinkering, play and visual art as the former Creative Arts Lead at the Omaha Children’s Museum. Tyler Swain is currently the Creative Director of Createables, an artistic vocational day center for adults with physical and developmental disabilities.