Undine Brod (b. 1974) spent equal amounts of time growing-up in Los Angeles, Seattle and New York City. She earned an MFA from The Ohio State University in 2011 and both a BFA in Ceramics and a BA in Interdisciplinary Art from the University of Washington in 1998.
While an undergraduate student, Undine also studied for one year at New York University and for one term at La Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico. In addition to exhibiting in the United States and internationally she has participated in several artist residencies including: Red Lodge Clay Center, the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét, Hungary, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
She has received several grants and awards in recognition of her artwork including the top honor and award chosen by the prominent curator Christopher Bedford for work in the Ohio Art League Annual Fall Juried Exhibition and an Merit Award given by Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio for her work in the 19th National Ceramics Competition at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. Currently her home base and studio are located in Rhinebeck, New York and she continues to travel for teaching and residency opportunities.
FEATURED WORK
Through my work I attempt to decipher and understand what surrounds me in this world of oddities and awkwardness. I am fascinated with the bizarre and incongruous. I am intrigued with the imposition of rules. My overall motivation for working comes from my desire to explore, experiment, study, and play with these themes. Through my processes I raise questions about and create disturbances in the regular order of life and the rational mind.
My primary material is clay. I’m drawn to it because it inherently has attributes of legacy. Clay has been used since the beginning of time and across all civilizations. It has been used to make domestic, sacramental, and architectural objects. It is continually being developed in the arenas of science and technology. I work with clay because it is extremely versatile, universal and accessible. I believe clay is a humble material with which we can connect.
I also work with common, readily available, domestic materials (tape, paper, fabric, house paint, etc.), trash-picked discarded items, and thrift store finds. Beginning with pre-existing components provides a layer of history and narrative that I can react to, with, or against. I reconfigure the various elements and revive them with a new sense of purpose and context. The simple, moribund, and unpretentious characteristics of all the materials I use takes my work away from preciousness and aligns it within the everyday realm.
I embellish my work with lush surface treatments. I use repetition and a heavily layered application of surface materials to draw out obsessive, friction-filled, and unsettled feelings. The juxtaposition of the simplicity of the materials and objects with the complexity of content and surface generates tension in the work that parallels angst-riddled lives punctuated with moments of composure and harmony. The work disrupts the predictable, thus causing one to pause in order to reevaluate and comprehend. I strive to create work that people will recognize, but that challenges their ideas about and relationships with the familiar.
UNDINE BROD’s C.V. (resume)
EDUCATION
2009-2011 – Masters of Fine Arts, Ohio State University
2008-2009 – Special Student, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University
1995-1998 – BFA in Ceramics and BA in Interdisciplinary Art, University of Washington
PUBLIC ART, AWARDS, HONORS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2014 – Capital Hill Alphabet Animal Art Project, Capital Hill Arts Workshop, Washington, DC
2012 – Merit Award, 19th National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Jurors: Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio
2011 – Best in Show, The Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, Jurors: Katy M. Reis & Eric Weeks
– Home, large scale reproduction for CABS bus, Oh! Art, The Idea Lab, Columbus, OH
– Department of Art Travel Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
– The John Fergus Family Materials Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2011-09 – Graduate Teaching and Administrative Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2010 – Mary Lou Chess Memorial Award (top honor), Ohio Art League Annual Fall Juried Exhibition, Juror: Christopher Bedford
– Jurors’ Choice, The Language of Art, German Village Art League, Jurors: Eliza Jones and Walter King
– The John Fergus Family Travel Award, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
2008 – Displacement Not Delayed, Salt Lake City International Airport, Salt Lake City, Utah
1999 – Centrum Art Center Grant, funded by The Poncho Foundation, Seattle, WA
1998 – Allied Arts Grant, received on behalf of New A.R.T. (Artists Representing Themselves), Seattle, WA
– Honorable Mention, Reflections: Unconventional Self-Portraits, Jurors: Ellen Forney & Scott Wolfe
– Juror’s Award, School of Art Open 14, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Juror: Diane Douglas, Director, Bellevue Art Museum
1997 – Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Community Service, Lambda Rho Association, Seattle, WA
– Kottler/Noritake Foundation Grant, School of Art Scholarship, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1996 – Parnassus Grant, School of Art Scholarship, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS (selection)
2014 – TBA, Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY (forthcoming)
2013 – Containment: A Life of Hoarding and Hiding, collaboration with Clare Fox, Whitdel Arts, Detroit, MI
2011 – Bound by Order, Sean Christopher Gallery, Columbus, OH
– Transforming the Mundane/The Mundane Transformed, The Ohio Art League, C’bus, OH
2006 – New Work, Meisel Gallery, Makor/Steinhardt Center of the 92nd Street Y, NY, NY
2005 – Visitors: New Work, Gallery 221, NY, NY
2004 – Portholes & Passageways, a collaboration with Brooke Brod, Women’s Project Theatre, NYC
1998 – BFA Solo Thesis Exhibition, Ceramic Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selection)
2014 – Within the Menagerie, NCECA Concurrent Exhibit, Milwaukee, WI & Clamp Light Gallery, San Antonio, TX
– Within the Menagerie, Pritzlaff Building, NCECA Concurrent Exhibit, Milwaukee, WI
2013 – Cold Comfort, Monstrous Icons of Winter, Kingston Museum of Contemporary Art, Kingston, NY
– Köszönöm Szépen, Kápola Galéria, Kecskemét, Hungary
– Conversance: A Sculptural Ceramics Exhibition, FrontierSpace, Missoula, MT
– Science as Muse, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2012 – Animalis, Red Hook Gallery, Red Hook Community Arts Network, Red Hook, NY
– Mounted, Red Lodge Clay Center Gallery, Red Lodge, MT
– Actions/Mutations/Revisions/Formations, ArtPrize, VandenBerg Plaza, Grand Rapids, MI
– From Here to There, The Shot Tower Gallery, Columbus, OH
– In Spite of Ourselves, Red Lodge Clay Center Gallery, Red Lodge, MT
– Sculptural Selections, Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
– Red Lodge Clay Center Exhibits, Montana Western Art Gallery and Museum, Dillon, MT
– 19th National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
– Clay? IV (Jurors: D. Jeck, A. Takamori, and J. Walker), Kirkland Arts Center, Kirkland, WA
– Plasticity: Various Interpretations, Northwest College Sinclair Gallery, Powell, WY
2011 – Clay Come Lately, Exit Gallery, ASMSU, Bozeman, MT
– Rooms to Let, site-specific installation project in transitional house, Columbus, OH
– Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, Cox Fine Arts Center, Columbus, OH
– OAL Annual Spring Juried Exhibition (Juror: T. Slaughter), Carnegie Gallery, Columbus, OH
– Conflence(s): 2011 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Urban Arts Space, Columbus, OH
– Something Else…, City Art Center, Delaware, OH
– Image—Self, Concourse Gallery, Upper Arlington, OH
– A Series of One Liners: Love, Sex, & Finding Someone, Silver Image Gallery, Columbus, OH
2010 – OAL Annual Fall Juried Exhibition (Juror: C. Bedford), Fort Hayes Shot Tower Gallery, C’bus, OH
– The Language of Art, German Village Art League, Carnegie Gallery, Columbus, OH
– KY.7 Biennial (Jurors: B. Alley, J. Begley, & J. Franz), LAL @ Loudoun House, Lexington, KY
– 7th Annual Marge Brown Kalodner Grad Student Exhibit (Juried), The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
– Borrowed Words (Juried), Carnegie Gallery, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH
– Gesture (inclusive), Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery, The Ohio State University, Marion, OH
2009 – The Canvas Project, Atrium Gallery, The Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA
– Southern Tier Biennial – Cattaraugus County Juried Show (Jurors: Hughes & Urso), Olean, NY
– Special Enough, Rhodes Room, NYS College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
2008 – Your Documents Please, IBID, traveling exhibition from April 2008 to November 2010, locations: Museum of Arts & Crafts, Itami, Hyogo, Japan; ZAIM Art Space, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan; Galerie Paris, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan; 2B Galéria, Budapest, Hungary; Gâlerie Kurt im Hirsch, Berlin, Germany; Galéria Z, Bratislava, Slovakia; Galeria Ajolote Arte Contempo, Guadalajara, MX; Alma on Dobbin, Fine Light, Inc., New York, NY
– Change, The Washington Street Art Center, Somerville, MA
2007 – Deer Art: Animal Imagery in Contemporary Art (Juried), Like the Spice Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
– Winter Wonders, Gallery 221, New York, NY
2006 – The Kosher-Style County Fair, 14th Street Y, New York, NY
– The Square Foot Show, Art Gotham, New York, NY
– Amendicons, traveling exhibition curated by Anat Litwin, locations: Makor Gallery, New York, NY; Haven Art Gallery, Bronx Gallery, Bronx, NY; Yeshivath Zichron Moshe, South Fallsburg, NY; Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah, Kew Gardens, NY
2005 – Babes, Holland Tunnel, New York, NY
– Wanderings, Meisel Gallery, Makor/Steinhardt Center of the 92nd Street Y, New York, NY
2003 – Brand New: Inaugural Exhibit, Gallery 221, New York, NY
1998 – Play Things, SOIL Gallery, Seattle, WA
– Sculptural Selections, Carnegie Art Center, Walla Walla, WA
– Building 30: Different Views, former Sand Point Naval Base, Seattle, WA
– Annual Regional Juried Show, Carnegie Art Center, Walla Walla, WA
– Allied Arts Association Annual Juried Show, Allied Arts Gallery, Richland, WA
– Reflections: Unconventional Self-Portraits, The Pound Gallery, Seattle, WA
– 1st Annual Emily Carr/UW Exchange, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver, Canada
– School of Art Open 14, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1997 – Gun Propaganda Art – For or Against? (Juried), The Pound Gallery, Seattle, WA
– School of Art Open 13 (Juried), Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
PUBLICATIONS
– “My Favorite Things.” Operation Ohio, ed. Mary Jo Bole, Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University, December 2010.
– Illustration published with the poem “A Coat” by William Butler Yeats. Broadside, ed. Elizabeth Bradfield. North Truro, MA: Broadsided Press, August 2008.
– Illustration published with the poem “Ghazal for the Woman from Vitez” by Susan Rich. Broadside, ed. Elizabeth Bradfield. Anchorage, AK: Broadsided Press, April 2006.
ARTICLES, CATALOGS AND REVIEWS (selection)
– Delarte, Alonso. (2013, December 26). “Detroit’s 5 most memorable art shows of 2013,” & Image Reproduction. Examiner.com
– Woods, Lynn. (2013, December 12). “KMOCA’s Krampus Exhibit a Smash Hit,” & Image Reproduction. Kingston Times, pp. 14-16.
– Delarte, Alonso. (2013, April 13). “Fox and Brod Tackle Hoarding at Whitdel Arts,” & Image Reproduction. Examiner.com
– Exhibition Catalogue: 19th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition.
– Image Reproduction. “Exposure.” Ceramics Monthly. September 2012. Volume 60, Number 7: 20.
– Nelson, Ardine. Image – Self, Women In Art: A Portrait Project. San Francisco, CA: Blurb, January 2012.
– Starker, Melissa. (2011, August 21). “Heady Ideas Offer Food for Thought” & Image Reproduction. The Columbus Dispatch, p. E7. (Review of solo exhibition at Sean Christopher Gallery)
– Mayr, Bill. (2011, August 4). “Exhibits Show Off New Efforts.” The Columbus Dispatch, p. 20. (Short-list of the Short North’s First Saturday August Gallery Hop)
– Exhibition Catalogue: The Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. Columbus, OH: August 2011.
– Yates, Christopher A. (2011, July 31). “Acres of Talent” & Image Reproduction. The Columbus Dispatch, p. E6. (Review of the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition)
– Yates, Christopher A. (2010, October 10). “Strong Show Relevant, Compelling” & Image Reproduction. The Columbus Dispatch, p. E6. (Review of the Ohio Art League’s Annual Fall Juried Exhibition)
– Johnson, Garth. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers/Quarry Books, November 2009.
– Exhibition Catalogue: The Canvas Project V2: Encyclopedia. Atlanta, GA: Art House Co-op, October 2009.
– Exhibition Catalogue: Southern Tier Biennial – Cattaraugus County Juried Show . Allegany, NY: Cattaraugus Arts Council, June 2009.
– Merkin, Daphne. “Review.” American Ceramics. Volume 15, Number 2: 70. (Review of solo exhibition at Gallery 221, New York, NY)
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2014 – Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine; two-week Open Studio Residency
– Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT; four-week residency to develop new work
2013 – The International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, Hungary; 7-week residency to develop new work
2012 – Adoration, Detroit, MI; one-month residency to produce sculptures for exhibition at ArtPrize
2011 – Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT; year-long residency, work exchange with stipend
– Belden Brick Factory, Canton, OH; 3-day intensive residency to make work w/ factory materials
2010 – Belden Brick Factory, Canton, OH; 3-day intensive residency to make work w/ factory materials
2005 – Makor/Steinhardt Center of the 92nd Street Y, New York, NY; 6-month Continuum Program
2004 – Makor/Steinhardt Center of the 92nd Street Y, New York, NY; 6-month residency and study
1999 – Centrum Art Center, Port Townsend, WA; 2-month residency in the printmaking studio
1998 – Centrum Art Center, Port Townsend, WA; one-week residency for A.R.T. organizational planning
SELECT RELATED EXPERIENCE
2014 – Co-Curator, with Jill Foote-Hutton, Within the Menagerie, traveling exhibition
2013 – Artist Talk, The International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, Hungary
– Artist Talk, Whitdel Arts, Detroit, MI
2012 – Artist Talk and Studio Visits, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
– Artist Talk, Grand Valley State University, Grand Valley, MI
2011 – Artist Talk, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
– Artist Talk, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
2009 – Artist Talk, Brown Bag Lecture Series, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
– Artist Talk, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
2006 – Artist Participant, New York City, Citywide Open Studios, New York, NY
2005 – Panelist, Art & Wandering, moderator: Brian Sholis of Artforum, Steinhardt Center, New York, NY
– Artist Participant, NYC 1st Annual Open Studios Tour, New York, NY
Contact Undine at undinebrod@hotmail.com or visit her website.
View the ceramic artists list.
