Public Artist Talk

Adriane Colburn

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

5:30 to 6:30 PM

Willard Hall Room 007

Based in Jersey City, NJ and Vermont, Adriane Colburn is a visual artist whose research is based on the complex relationship between human infrastructure, earth systems, technology, and the natural world. Research is at the core of her artistic practice which includes drawing, sculpture, video, and multimedia installations. Reading, digging into archives, working alongside scientists, and gaining embodied knowledge has anchored her career in broader crucial issues that often lie outside of an artist’s studio practice. Her research has taken her to cross pollinate with experts in disparate fields from sewage treatment plant managers to genealogists to marine biologists. Much of Colburn’s research is conducted directly in the field—local landscapes, oil fields, and industrial zones—and on scientific expeditions from the Arctic to South America.

Colburn’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as Smack Mellon, and Parsons/New School in New York, The Luggage Store Gallery, Gallery 16 and The Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, Ballroom Marfa, Artsterium in the Republic of Georgia and at the Royal Academy of Art in London. Her artworks are in public and private collections including the San Francisco Arts Commission. She has been an artist in residence at MASS MOCA, the Headlands Center for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the Kala Institute, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Blue Mountain Center, and with the Cape Farewell Project. Additionally, she has participated in numerous scientific research expeditions in regions ranging from the Arctic to South America. Awards include the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Franklin Research Fellowship/ American Philosophical Institute, The Fleishhacker Foundation and Artadia Award.  She is currently on the faculty at Bard College.