top of page

Carlene Frances

BIO
Carlene Frances,.JPG

Artist Statement 

Seijaku Series:

Tranquility in the midst of daily turmoil. The Japanese have a word for it: Seijaku.

 

Seijaku isn’t an escape from the world that surrounds us. Rather, it is the seeking of serenity in the midst of chaos; the finding of true inner quiet as the world churns around us. 

 

I have always been fascinated by the dichotomy between order and chaos—especially in today’s constant barrage of media and technology. The use of binary code in this series is not about the code itself. Rather its distortion and randomness are symbols of the tumult from which we move toward peace, order and simplicity.

 

In Seijaku I suggest to the viewer that the journey to serenity can start with a break from the routines of an active life. A move toward simplicity, order and balance. A discovery of the calm pond at the heart of us.

A way to stillness.

Retina Series:

Sight is the artist’s connection between idea and execution, between the inner and outer world. Change one and the other must follow.

"In the months of healing that followed emergency retina eye surgery, I turned to my canvas with brutal honesty, to express my fear of losing my vision. Far from the meditative harmonic palette of my previous work, the Retina Series speaks to a very different set of emotions. Vivid color. Energetic flashes. The black spots and gestural lines that owned my vision. Open fields like the white of the eye. Paint given to the surface by hand, not brush—an intimate connection to the canvas both visceral and personal."

 

In the Retina series, a confessional: an authentic revealing of self that turned adversity into inspiration. And a will that turned frustration to redemption.

 

Selected Solo, Invitational, and Juried Exhibitions

2021  Lone Tree Arts Center, Commissioner’s Choice Exhibit, Into The Rearview Mirror: A Look   

          Back At 2020, Inviational, Lone Tree, CO.

2020  Space Gallery, Serenity in the Midst of Chaos, Solo Exhibit, Denver, CO

2020  R Gallery, Meaning in Abstraction, Group Exhibit, Boulder, CO

2019  Valdosta State University, Valdosta National 2019, Juried Exhibit, Dedo        

          Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, Valdosta, Georigia

2019  ART Squared, A Two Person Exhibit Seijaku, Boulder, CO

2019  Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Colorado Abstract +10: A Survey, Invitational  

          Exhibit, Arvada, CO

2018  Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, 46th Internatioanl Art Show, Juried group     

          Exhibit, Brownsville, TX

2018  K Contemporaray Gallery, Seijaku, Solo Exhbit, Denver, CO 

2017  Space Gallery, White, Invitational Group Exhibit, Denver, CO

2017  Globe Fine Art, Translucency, Solo Exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

2017  Yokohama Civic Gallery, 25th International Exhibit, Yokohama, Japan

2016  Metropolitian State University Center for the Visual Arts, Colorado Woman in  

          Astraction, Invitational Exhibit, Denver, CO

2016  Nagasaki Art Museum, International Exhibit, Nagasaki, Japan

2016  Center for the Visual Arts, Colorado Woman in Astraction, Invitational Exhibit, Denver,  CO

2016  Highline Gallery, Two Woman Show, Boulder, CO

2016  Space Gallery, Group Exhibit, Denver, CO

2015  Riverside Art Museum, California Dreaming, Riverside CA

2015  Nagasaki Prefectual Art Museum, International Exhibit, Nagasaki, Japan

2015  The Painting Center, The Writing on the Wall, New York City, NY

2015  Space Gallery, Nature’s Line, Denver, CO

2015  40 West Gallery, Black, White & Metal, Lakkwood, CO

2014   Ice Cube Gallery, Ice Breaker 5, Juried Exhibit  Denver, CO

2014   Space Gallery, Fusion V, Invitational Exhibit, Denver, CO

2014   Palazzo della Provinic di Frosinoe, California Dreaming, Frosinone, Italy

2014   Oceanside Museum of Art, California Dreaming, Oceanside, CA

2013  Republic Plaza, Total Abstraction, Denver, CO

2013  Space Gallery, Mind Over Matter, Denver, CO

2013  Arvada Center for the Arts, Art of the State, Juried Exhibit, Arvada CO

2012  Space Gallery,The Other Primary Colors; White Black Grey, Denver, CO

2012  Cultural Arts Council Fine Arts Gallery, Abstract Expressions,  Invitational Group Exhibit, Estes Park, CO

2011  Lowery Gallery, Poetic Synthesis, Invitational Exhibit, Community College of Aurora, CO

2011  Chelsea Art Museum, 1st International Juried Peace Art NYC Exhibition, International Juried Exhibit, NYC, NY

2010  Spark Gallery, Biennial Juired Exhibit, Big Themes/Small Work, Denver, CO

2010  Museum of Modern Art, International Juried Exhibit, A Book About Death, Wales, UK.

2010  National Museum of Brazil/Museu Brasilerio da Escultura 2010,

International Invitational Exhibit, A Book About Death, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009  The Dairy Center for the Arts 2009, Juried Exhibit, Enso The Circle, Boulder, CO

2008  Curtis Art & Humanities Center, Juried Exhibit, 25th (2008) , 20th (2003), 17th   (2000), 16th (1999) Annual All Colorado Art Show, Greenwood Village, CO

2007  Denver Public Library, Santa Fe Art District Exhibit, Denver, CO

2004  Susan K. Arndt Gallery, Mountain Valley Women Artists 2004, Red Rocks  Community College, Lakewood, CO

2004  The Lincoln Center, NCAA13th National Art Exhibition 2004, Fort Collins, CO

2004  Evergreen Arts Center, Contemporary Art Exhibit, Evergreen, CO

2002  Museum of Contemporary Art, Regional Juried Exhibit, Rocky Mountain  Biennial, Fort Collins, CO

2000  Canyon Road Contemporary Art, National Invitational,  Juried Exhibit, Santa Fe, NM

Museum and Corporate Collections

2016  Envision Healthcare, Denver, CO 

2014  Willow Creek Dental, Lonetree, CO

2012  Dean Evans & Associates, Greenwood Village, CO

2010  Flux Museum, Fort Worth, TX

2010  Museum of Modern Art, (MOMA), Wales, UK

2010  National Museum of Brazil/Museu Brasilerio da Escultura (MUBE),  Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009  Marriott International Inc., Renaissance Hotel, Charleston, SC

2009  Kentler International Drawing Space Permanent Collection, Brooklyn, NY

2008  AMS Health Inc., Denver, CO.

2008  DCG Law Firm, Broomfield, CO

2007  Towne & Country Real Estate Company, Denver, CO

2007  Law Firm of Castle, Meinhold & Stawjarski LLC, Denver, CO

2000  Law Firm of Huttner & Huttner, Denver, CO

1998  Summit Financial, Englewood, CO

1998  Mississippi Dental, Aurora, CO

1998  Stephens Finanical, Denver, CO

Awards and Recognition, Publications 

2018  Publidhed Review in Westword Magazine by Michael Paglia, Seijaku, Solo   

          exhibit, K Contempoaray, Denver, CO

2018  Publish Article in ARTBEAT Magazine, Carlene Frances, Non-Referentially Speaking,    

           Denver, CO

2015  Published Review in Westword Magazine by Michael Paglia, Natures’s

          Line Exhibit, Space Gallery Denver, CO

2015  6th, 2015 Artslant Prise Showcase Competition winner. 

2013  Recognition by Westword’s Best of Denver, “Best Group Show”, The Other     

           Primary Colors; White Black Grey, Space Gallery, Denver, CO 

2013  Published Review in Westword by Michael Paglia, Mind Over Matter   

           Exhibit, Space Gallery, Denver CO  

2013   Recognition by Westword’s Best of Denver 2013, “Best Big Show    

           Colorado Art”, Art of the State, Arvada Center For The Arts, Arvada, CO

2013  Arvada Center For The Arts Exhibit Catalog, Art Of The  State, Arvada, CO

2013  Published Review in Westword by Michae Paglia, Art of the State, Arvada    

          Center For The Arts, Arvada CO

2012  Space Gallery Exhibit Catalog, The Other Primary Colors; White Black Grey      

           Denver, CO

2012  Published Review in Westword by Michael Paglia, The Other     Primary   

           Colors; White Black Grey. Denver, CO

2011  Space Gallery Exhibit Catalog, Fusion IV, Denver, CO

2011  Published, Tao Te Ching, by RZ Foster, Painting on Book Cover 

2010  Flux Museum Exhibit Catalog, FluxFace in Space, Fort Worth, TX.         

2008  Home & Gardens TV, 22 Paintings featured and filmed in Denver,  Designed    

           by architect Suzette Evans for HGTV series, “My Amazing Renovation” 
2007  Orbitz Design Published, Corporate Calendar, Denver, CO 

2007  Published Article, Art of the Four Corners Magazine, Fall Issue, Full page  

            article on Fusion Exhibit, page 68

2007  Published Book, Fusion: Painting and Poetry

2006  Curators Choice Award, Art for Aids Exhibit, Denver, CO

2004  First Place Award, Contemporary Art Exhibition, Evergreen Center for the Arts,  

           Evergreen, CO

2002  Award of Merit, 3rd Annual Artful Women Exhibit, Fremont Center for the Arts,  

           Canon City, CO

2000  Award of Excellence, National Invitational, Canyon Road Contemporary Art  

           Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

1997-2001, RMCAD Published Mural, Integration of Space, Rocky Mountain  

           College of Art & Design College Catalog, Denver, CO 

Education

1998  BFA, Painting and Drawing, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design,  Denver, CO

1972  Kendal College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, Grand  Rapids, MI

1970  Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI

bottom of page