GAIL SPAIEN Painter Gail Spaien’s work explores the infinite, transcendent quality
of the present. Influenced by American Folk Art, the tradition of Indian
miniatures, and Minimalism, Spaien’s compositions combine decorative patterning
and exquisite rendering to create quiet, peaceful moments that provide a respite
from the cacophony of our daily lives. Delicate flora and fauna and elegant
avian creatures float on the flattened picture plane, inhabiting a two-dimensional,
conceptual landscape. In an art world often eschews the decorative arts,
Spaien celebrates embellishment, pattern, and the depiction of simple beauty,
creating a contemporary folk art tradition infused with a minimalist Zen aesthetic .
Gail Spaien holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her work
has been shown nationally in solo exhibitions at the Vanier Gallery in Tuscon,
AZ, Aucosico Gallery in Portland, Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville,
ME , and the George Marshall Store in York, as well as in group shows at the
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Jack
Meier Gallery in Houston, TX, and the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, ME. Fellowships
include the Djerassi Foundation Resident Artists Program in Woodside, CA, Millay
Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, NY and, the Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture. Spaien is currently an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing
at the Maine College of Art .
click on image for larger view
Botanical Study
Botanical Study #2
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