Linda Celestian

Visual Artist

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About

Artist Statement

Growing up in upstate New York, my summers were spent living on the water with my family in a 31-foot boat. My father’s love of traveling by water and living in nature was passed down to me.

I am fascinated by the energy, forms, and colors found in nature. My multi-component sculptures and acrylic paintings are created using natural processes. One such process is nuno felting, where wool and silk are integrated using warm soapy water and agitation.

 I always hand dye my pieces and strive to create natural colorations. Although not all my dye colors are obtained from nature, I love to use rusty objects to dye some of my pieces. Another way I work in partnership with nature is allowing evaporation to play a role in my dyeing process. I pour the dye on the silk and let it evaporate to create unique organic patterns.

Silk has been my preferred material because of its diaphanous qualities. Small sculptures are stitched to linen circles like specimens and can be installed as collections. Larger components are suspended to create variable aerial compositions. These pieces can command a space while concurrently feeling weightless and free-floating.

I work with paint in its fluid form and manipulate it to imitate natural occurrences such as the sky, ice, decay, rushing water, and patterns created by wind and rain. I’m in partnership with the laws of nature when I allow the paint to run, puddle and evaporate.

Education:

1983-1988     Moore College of Art and Design      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts in Fashion Design,

Post-Graduate Study in Painting and Sculpture

Selected Exhibitions:

Solo Exhibitions

2021      Dawning, ArtBox @ Lincoln Square | The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA

2020      Ocean Blues 2 Commerce Square, Philadelphia, PA (InLiquid)

2019      Affluent, Pennswood Art Gallery, Newtown, PA

2017      Confluence, Mala Galleria, Kennett Square, PA

2017      The Beach and Beyond, Camp Rehoboth, Rehoboth Beach, DE

2016      Fluent, Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery Wilmington, DE (Fellowship)

2015      Overflowing, Crane Arts Building, Hall (InLiquid), Philadelphia, PA 2014      Crescendo, Mala Galleria,Kennett Square, PA

2013      Oceans, Isles and Shoals, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Reading, PA

2011      Outpouring, Delaware Division of the Arts, Mezzanine Gallery, Wilmington, DE

2011      Waterways, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Hatch Gallery), Wilmington, DE

2004, 2008    Annual Arden Fair   Arden, DE

Group Exhibitions

2019       Juried Craft Exhibition, The Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE (Juror, Paul Sacaridiz)

                 Catalyze, Cambridge Innovation Center, Philadelphia, PA

2018       Flow, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

                Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (curated by CFEVA)

2017       Biggs Picture Juried Landscape Competetion, Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE (Juror, Jason Rosenfeld)

2017      Elemental, InLiquid @ Lacey and Phillips Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2015      Sky Frame, 2 Commerce Square, Philadelphia (InLiquid)

2015      POST, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia (InLiquid)

2013      Five in Fiber, Gallery 37, Milford, DE

                Broad Spectrum: Members’ Juried Show, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Juror, Molly Donavan)

2012     Art in the Open, Philadelphia, Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, PA

              Vanity Fare, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts   Reading, PA (Jurors, Lyn Godley, Pam Ptak)

              FiberPhiladelphia, Crane Arts Building,  Philadelphia, PA (Jurors, Elisabeth Agro, Bruce D. Hoffman)

2011        RSVP Invitational, LGTripp Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

                3rd Street Gallery Community Exhibit, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2010      NEW: Members’ Juried Show, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Juror, Roberta Fallon)

               National Small Works Painting, The Main Street Gallery, Groton, NY (Jurors, Mariann Loveland, Roger Smith)

2009      On the Fringe of Fiber, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA (Juror, K. Pannepacker)

                The Possibilities of Pause, Delaware Art Musuem, Wilmington, DE (Juror, Carina Evangelista)

2008      Essential Elements, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

                The Natural World, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts   Reading, PA (Juror, Robert P. Metzger)

                Natural Progression, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Hatch Gallery) Wilmington, DE

2006, 2007    Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

Public Art

2015          Arden Fair Community Murals, Arden, DE

2018          Buzz Ware Village Center Mural, Arden, DE

2019          Cambridge Innovation Center, Sculpture Acquisition, Philadelphia, PA

Grants

2018          Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant

2016          Delaware Division of the Arts, Emerging Fellowship in Painting

2014          Delaware Division of the Arts, Fellowship Honorable Mention

2013          Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant

2012          Delaware Division of the Arts, Opportunity Grant

2003          Delaware Division of the Arts, Artist in Residence   Wilmington Montessori School

2002          Delaware Division of the Arts, Artist in Residence    Mt. Pleasant Elementary School

Publications:

2015           Studio Visit, Volume Twenty-Seven

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