Carolee Asia

Biography

After graduating from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts with a BA degree in illustration and design, I began my art career in this field with a keen interest in folk art and narrative elements in all the visual arts. With several years in design and production, I became interested in the interpretation of material culture and took a Masters degree in Museum Studies from George Washington University, becoming a researcher and writer working with major American art collections including Museums Collaborative, NYC, The Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Intermuseum Conservation Association. Oberlin, Ohio. While living abroad for two years, I studied art history and decorative arts at Christies, London, England and graduated from the certification course in connoisseurship. While in Tucson, Arizona, I have been a grant writer for non-profit cultural organizations and free-lance writer in the arts.

As an artist, I began with illustration and design, including calligraphy. I have also worked in photography primarily using darkroom-style production, with both 35mm and large formats, to create silver gelatin prints and cyanotypes. For the past decade, I have been working with collage, mixed media, and polymer resin coatings. 

Artist Statement

Inspired by silhouette, pattern and calligraphy, my artwork is characterized by colorful images that engage the viewer using a variety of surface shapes. I enjoy the play of images on all kinds of structures such as cubes and vases, platters, and gourds. The compositions are originally suggested by the size and shape of the basic shapes I find, and the color palette comes together as if the medium was paint. I express my perception of reality using a unique vocabulary of images created with paper, paper mache, glue, and an Exacto blade. Using all types of artist papers, I create artwork that, when finished, resembles glass or ceramics due to the final application of a heavy resin varnish.

My intention is to please the eye and invite the viewer to look more closely.

You can see more of her work at: www.caroleeasia.com