November 10 - December 2, 2023
US | Teresa Dunn

Artist Statement:
Being a brown Mexican American woman from the Midwest informs my recent artwork. My paintings bring voice to stories that people of color, multicultural individuals, and immigrants want to share about themselves through visually poetic realities. Themes of isolation, belonging, joy and hope emerge in the visual storytelling. The narratives are fictive futures, potential alternate realities, speculative nonfiction, or distorted depictions of past events. What could be interpreted as nostalgia is often subverted by psychological tension built on questions of race, gender, and identity. My paintings prioritize authentic experiences that represent and value marginalized lives, especially Black and Brown ones. 

Artist Bio:
Teresa Dunn is a Mexican American artist raised in rural Southern Illinois. Her identity, life, and art are influenced by her racial and cultural heritages and the complexities of being a brown woman in the Midwest.  
Teresa Dunn received her MFA from Indiana University Bloomington in 2002. She is a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Fellowship, was a Jacob K Javits Fellow, and was recently awarded grants from the Puffin Foundation Ltd and the Sustainable Arts Foundation. ​

Dunn’s most recent body of work “US” has been shown in solo exhibitions at The Dennos Museum in Traverse City, Michigan and First Street Gallery in New York and now at the Buckham Gallery in Flint. “US” will travel to Baber Gallery at Central Michigan University next year. Dunn was recently commissioned by Paloozanoire to participate in Black & Brown Faces, a forthcoming group exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Dunn’s series “Longing to Be” was shown in solo shows at The Marathon Center for Performing Arts (Ohio), the University of Alabama Huntsville and the Pendleton Center for the Arts (Oregon). Her series ”Cover the Waterfront” was exhibited in a one person show at the Zillman Art Museum (Maine) which was reviewed in Art New England. Recent group exhibitions include at National Arts Club and The Painting Center both in New York, “Disrupted Realism” featuring Anne Harris, juried by John Seed, at the Buckham Gallery, for which she was awarded second prize.  Dunn’s solo exhibition “Étrange réalité” at Galerie l’Échaudé in Paris was reviewed in AZART and Miroir de l’Art and critic Vincent Delaury wrote the catalog essay. Dunn won Best in Show at the 2008 Biennial of Contemporary Realism at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Other achievements include inclusion in the inaugural Miami University Young Painters Competition. Notably Dunn’s work is included in the forthcoming book by John Seed More Disruption: Representation in Flux from Schiffer Publishing. Other publications include featured cover artist in All SHE Makes inaugural print publication with interview by Teri Henderson and her essay and artwork were included in An Artist and a Mother a collection of writing and images from artist mothers by Demeter Press. Dunn attended the Vermont Studio Center and Cuttyhunk Island Artist Residencies. She has conducted many artist lectures including at the University of Washington Seattle and the Rome Art Program in Rome, Italy. Dunn’s work is in collections including the Dennos Museum Center, the Zillman Art Museum, Kinsey Institute, Venice Baroque Orchestra, and Wright State University Art Galleries. Teresa Dunn is Professor of Painting and Drawing at Michigan State University in East Lansing where she has taught since 2006.  

Inventory

The Ballad of Azya Moore (Ode to Zora Neale Hurston)
Oil on linen
66" x 40"

Keira Busch and the Tree of Many Fruits (Allegory of a Family Tree)
Oil on linen
72" x 60"

If I Knew Then What I Know Now (The Look, Dora Rentas and Tanya Roberts)
Oil on linen
43" x 29"

El Corrido de Javier Salas Vera (Alegoría de los Mojados, Parte 2)
Oil on linen
48" x 288"

The Ballad of Lillian Young (Allegory of Black Joy and Sorrow)
Oil on linen
40" x 30"

If I Knew Then What I Know Now (One Eye Open: Monifa Roberts, Tanya Roberts, Dora Rentas, and Sarah Cline)
Oil on linen
72" x 60"

Love is Sweet with Britney Reason (An Alternative 돌잔치 K-Drama)
Oil on linen
​48" x 60"