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Born in Reidsville, North Carolina, Rebecca Humphrey received a MFA in painting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Humphrey taught art at James Madison University from 1972 until her retirement in 1999.  She experienced art’s healing power early as a child when painting and drawing helped her through an extended period of illness.

Now residing in Linville, Virginia, Humphrey creates works using paper as her medium. Attracted to its relief and collage possibilities, she makes paper from a mixture of ground cotton, other plant fibers and water. Humphrey’s strong interest in color is apparent in her low-relief cast works. The artist uses permanent pigments, paints and collage materials to achieve vivid color contrasts. She enriches her pieces texturally by building up layers of collage and often includes found objects in her works.

To visit her website, click HERE.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I employ a variety of media, but my artwork remains largely based in paper. Ground cotton or other plant fibers are mixed with water and placed against bas-relief forms, leaving fossil-like impressions when dry and the forms removed.

I love the way the handmade paper accepts color in both its wet and dry states. My palette is pails of colored pulp ranging from sky-like blues to sunburst yellows.

The tactile qualities of handmade paper and collage nudge me into a playful interaction with my materials. The viewer's eye can enjoy moving over the diverse dimensional surface of the art.

Emotions and ideas drawn from life experiences starting with my childhood in the tobacco town of Reidsville, North Carolina, have always motivated my mixed media art. Studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro revealed new passions for modern dance and poetry.


The rhythms, juxtapositions, and visual images I derive from these are strong inspiration for me. All the arts make me think in unexpected directions, allowing me to add to my visual world rather than simply mimic it.


SELECTED SHOWS   

2008

Paperworks, New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, NC

2008

Beyond Reading, The Suffolk Museum, Suffolk VA

2007

Duration: School of Art and Art History Faculty and Faculty Emeriti Exhibition,Sawhill Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

2007

Artisan Members Exhibition, Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA

2006

Artist Invites Artist, Middle Street Gallery, Washington, VA

2005

Small Wonders, Foxhall Gallery, Washington, DC

2005

21st Annual Holiday Show, New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, NC

2004

50th Anniversary VMRC, Park Gables Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA

2004

Gallery Artists’ Show, New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, NC

2004

Strong Medicine, The Art Gallery at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA

2003

Virginia Creates, This Century Gallery, Williamsburg, VA

2003

Beyond Reading, Ellipse Arts Center, Arlington, VA

2003

The Little Gallery, Smith Mt. Lake, Moneta, VA

2003

Virginia Creates, invitational exhibit at Ellipse Arts Center, Arlington, VA

2003

Emerald Magic, solo exhibition, 150 Franklin Street Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA

2002

Art at the Mill, Burwell-Morgan Mill, Millwood, VA

2002

Gallery Artists’ Group Show, Sun’s Traces Gallery, Barboursville, VA

2000

Recent Work, Middle Street Gallery, Washington, VA

1995

Bridgewater College Gallery, solo exhibition, Bridgewater, VA

1994

Mid-Atlantic Craft, Towson State University, Towson, MD

1993

Paperworks, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

1992

Earth, Air, Water and Fire:  The Elements, Middle Street Gallery, Washington, VA

1991

Images ‘91, Bayview Gallery, Camden, ME

1991

Valdosta Works on Paper lll, Valdosta State College, Valdosta, GA

1990

Recent Work in Paper, solo exhibition, The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1988

Craft Now:  Breaking Boundaries, Artmobile, Virginia Museum, Richmond, VA

1988

New Art Forms:  Virginia, Hand Workshop, Richmond, VA

1988

20th Dulin National Works on Paper, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN

1988

Over  the Blue Ridge ll, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke, VA

1987

Henley Southeastern Spectrum, Winston-Salem, NC

1987

Exhibition 280:  Works on Walls, Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV

1987

Approaches to Papermaking, Gertrude Herbert Art Institute, Augusta, GA

1986

Color:  The Spectrum of Expression, NC State University, Raleigh, NC

1986

Paper Works:  Seven Perspectives, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL

1985

Malone & Hyde Art Collection, Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN

1984

Innovators in Paper, Carr Gallery, Houston, TX

1984

Alexandria Museum September Competition, Alexandria Museum, Alexandria, LA

1982

Gallery 10 Cow Show, Gallery 10, Washington, DC

1981

Five from the Valley, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

1981

Animal Images, Renwick Gallery,Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

1980

A Taft Menagerie, The Taft Museum, Cincinnati, OH


SELECTED HONORS   

2005

2nd Annual VMRC, Park Gables Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA  (Juror’s Award of Excellence)

2002

Miniature Art 2002, 18th Annual Exhibition, Chambersburg Area Council for the Arts, Chambersburg, PA  (Honorable Mention)

2002

Smith Mountain Arts Council Art Show 2002, Moneta, VA (Merit Award)

2001

Artisans Center of Virginia, Waynesboro, VA  (Featured Artist for July)

1994

Mid-Atlantic Crafts, Towson State University, Towson, MD (Juror’s Award)

1985

Visual Arts:  The Southeast, Atlanta, GA (Purchase Award)

1984

Crafts 18 National, Pennsylvania State University, PA (Purchase Award)

1983

Crafts 17 National, Pennsylvania State University, PA (Award of Distinction)

1980

International All on Paper, Associated Art Organizations of Western New York Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (First Place, 3-D)

1979

Exhibition 280:  Painting, Sculpture and Crafts, Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV (Purchase and Achievement Awards)


PUBLICATIONS
  

1991

An Appreciation of Matisse’s Blue Nude, Worlds of Art (ed. Robert Bersson), Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View, CA

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