USA (Iowa)  b.1979

Erin Anfinson is an artist currently based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Her recent works have been shown at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN; Ruby Green Contemporary Art Center, Nashville, TN and TAG Art Gallery, Nashville, TN.

Upcoming exhibitions are planned at the James S. Murray Gallery at Lincoln Land Community College (October 2006) and TAG Art Gallery (July 2006). Anfinson's work was recently selected for publication in the 2006 Southern Competition edition of New American Paintings.

Currently, Anfinson teaches Painting and Foundations courses at Middle Tennessee State University as an assistant professor. She also recently worked as a Visual Arts Coordinator for Discovery Center at Murfree Spring in Murfreesboro, TN.   

EDUCATION

2003    MFA, Painting, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.

2001    American College of Greece, Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.          

2001    B.A., Studio Art, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA. 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE   

2005-06  Assistant Professor, Foundations, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN.

2004-05  Freelance Designer.

2003-05  Part-time Instructor, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. 

2001-03  Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 

EXHIBITIONS

2006 Flying Solo Exhibiton, Arts at the Airport, Nashville International Airport, Tennessee.

2006 Clear Box Project, Ruby Green, Nasvhille TN.

2006 Todd Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN.

2006 Abstractions: Recent Work by Anfinson, Brown, Fry, Lancia, Potter, Sargent, Claypool-Young Gallery, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. (Upcoming)

2006  James S. Murray Gallery, Lincoln Land Community
College, Springfield, IL. (Upcoming Solo Exhibition)

2006 TAG Art Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2006 Gambit Artist Group, Nashville, TN.

2005 5th Annual Iowa Women's Foundation Auction,
Cedar Falls, IA.

2005 Artspace Flatfiles at Haskins Labroatory,
New Haven, CT.

2005 Second Base, Gambit Artist Group, Nashville, TN.

2005    Todd Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN.

2005    Ruby Green, Nashville, TN.

2005    TAG Art Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2004    Art ala Carte, October 23, 2004, Murfreesboro, TN.

2004    4^th Annual Iowa Women’s Foundation Auction,
Cedar Falls, IA.

2004    New Acquisitions, Art Space, New Haven, CT.

2004    New Works by Erin Anfinson, Elizabeth Dorbad,
Kate Barrere and Jennefer Febbraro, TAG Art
Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2003    3^rd Annual Iowa Women’s Foundation Auction,
Cedar Falls, IA.

2003   Switchyard, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2003   Intersection: MFA Exhibition, William Benton
Museum of Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. 

2003    MFA Exhibition.  CAA co-sponsored exhibition, Hunter
2002 College/Times Square Gallery, New York, NY

2002    Threshold.  Arena Gallery, University of Connecticut,
Storrs, CT.

2002    Annual Juried Group Exhibition. Artwell Gallery,
Torrington, CT.

2002    2^nd Annual Iowa Women’s Foundation Auction,
Cedar Falls, IA.   

2001    1^st Annual Iowa Women’s Foundation Auction,
Cedar Falls, IA.

AWARDS

2003   Nomination, Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant.

2002   Nomination, Dedalus MFA Fellowship. 

2001-03  Graduate Teaching Assistantship, University of Connecticut.

2000-01  Tostleby-Ray Art Scholarship, Department of Art, University of Northern Iowa.

1998-2000  Department of Art Scholarship, Department of Art, University of Northern Iowa. 

PUBLICATIONS

Nashville Scene, Hide and Seek, July 13, 2006.

Artworld Digest, (upcoming), The Seed Project.

Art Papers, November/December 2005.

New American Paintings, 2005/06 Southern Competition.

 GALLERY REPRESENTATION

TAG Art Gallery, Nashville, TN

This recent body of work was inspired by my ongoing interest in peoples’ complex perceptions of the natural world. I am intrigued with my own dramatic and fantastical expectations of nature, and I question the degree to which one can be informed and misinformed via wild representations.

 These paintings were created by digitally combining and abstracting images of flora and fauna derived from computer clip art, pictures found on the internet, and digital photos I have taken of landscapes from my home in Northeastern Iowa.  The types of images I use are those that capture the often unseen and dramatic events in the natural world, such as animal confrontations. 

 The nearly monochromatic palette is intended to maintain an aesthetic relationship to black and white photographs while seamlessly veiling aspects of the collaged imagery.  Some of the resulting compositions reference cloud-like formations and allude to cloud-gazing, a quintessential game of pretend in which the viewer applies meaning to distorted and shifting versions of reality.