Penelope Caldwell, "Mail Order Brides Come with Baggage," oil on paper, 90"x52"At an April 24 ceremony in Casper, Penelope Caldwell of Laramie was named one of three Wyoming Arts Council visual arts fellowship recipients for 2010.
Penelope is an artist and midwife who grew up in Ghana, Argentina and Brazil and has roots in New York City.
In 2005, she graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with an M.F.A.
Here's the artist's statement she submitted with her fellowship entry:
My art speaks to gender, race and culture. In my painting, I search for that moment when a seemingly impossible constellation of drips and dabs of pigment coalesce into a moment of recognition.
The human figure and issues related to contemporary portraiture are central to my work. The portraits are large works on paper. Through the subject's gaze, these works explore the relationship between the identity of the subject and that of the viewer.
