About

WHO:

Gwenn Seemel (she)

WHAT:

queer artist who makes her living without copyright and without Instagram

WHERE:

Lambertville, New Jersey by way of France and Portland, Oregon

WHEN:

full-time since 2003

HOW:

with the help of clients and sticker lovers

CURRENT PROJECT:

Everything’s Fine, a series about how everything’s not

My polka-dot cubist painting style has been delighting art lovers and inspiring artists for almost two decades now. In 2017, a tech company recognized my contribution to the look of the new millennium by naming one of their photo filters “the Seemel,” which I took as both a compliment and a cheeky challenge from our future AI overlords to keep making original art that matters.

Portraits are my first love, and I’m known for painting groups of people for the purpose of exploring particular issues, like how we hide from each other and how social media is harming our ability to connect. I also create conceptual work that is not portraits. There’s this feminist science picture book for the child in each of us as well as a collaborative ABC book that includes a word search.

My work has been written about by the art historian Richard Brilliant and featured widely across the web, on sites like Boing Boing, Bust, Hyperallergic, NJ.com, and Newsweek, as well as in a number of books and a Belgian documentary film!

I’ve always wanted to save the world with my art, and, though I obviously haven’t been successful yet, that goal has never steered me wrong. Since 2003, I’ve been a full-time artist. Since 2010, I’ve been creating videos about art making and art marketing, like the one embedded above, and sharing them on my blog. Since 2012, I’ve been writing books, and since 2015 I’ve been connecting with some of the best people in the universe through Patreon.

In 2014, I spoke at TEDxGeneva about the role of imitation in creativity, and I released a book that digs deeper into the ideas addressed in the talk. You Share Good reveals why I don’t copyright my art and why other artists might want to consider freeing their work.

Gwenn Liberty Seemel is my full name. My American father wanted it to be Liberty Bell Seemel—after the great Philadelphian e-flat chimer—but made the compromise when my French mother pointed out that the famous ding-dong is, in fact, cracked.

Born in Saudi Arabia in 1981, I was raised partly in a small village in Brittany and partly in San Francisco. In 2003, I earned my BA summa cum laude from Willamette University. That same year, I launched my career in Portland, Oregon. I’ve been a full-time artist for twenty years, sharing my art throughout the US and also in France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada. These days, I make my home in Lambertville, New Jersey, on the unceded lands of the Lenni-Lenape people.

My partner and I don’t have kids, and, though that decision was originally inspired by my endometriosis, we’re happy with our choice. In fact, for me it ended up being a catalyst to more fully embrace my queerness—an identity that’s all about questioning traditional ideas about what women, nonbinary people, and men are allowed to do with their lives. You could call me childfree, meatfree, godfree, and genderfree, but only if you remember that I’m not a negation.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2023

Everything’s Fine, Passaic County Arts Center, Hawthorne, New Jersey

2023

Baby Sees ABCs, Englewood Public Library, Englewood, New Jersey

2022

Friend Request, Winifred Weiss’ Studio, Lambertville, New Jersey

2022

Baby Sees ABCs, Lambertville Free Public Library, Lambertville, New Jersey

2020

Baby Sees ABCs, Wildflowers Too, Barnegat Light, New Jersey

2019

Empathetic Magic, Lyceum Hall, Burlington, New Jersey

2019

Crime Against Nature, FIAF Montclair, Montclair, New Jersey

2017

Empathetic Magic, MT Burton Gallery, Surf City, New Jersey

2016

Crime Against Nature, PointCulture, Liège, Belgium

2012

Crime Against Nature, Place, Portland, Oregon

2011

Subjective, Art Festival Museum, Edmonds, Washington

2010

Subjective, Pence Gallery, Bend, Oregon

2010

Subjective, Arts Center, Corvallis, Oregon

2010

Subjective, North View Gallery, Portland, Oregon

2009

Apple Pie, Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts, Eugene, Oregon

2008

Apple Pie, Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, Portland, Oregon

2007

Swollen, Littman Gallery, Portland, Oregon

2006

Mutually Beneficial, Concrete, Portland, Oregon

2005

Public Faces, City Club of Portland, Portland, Oregon

2005

Private Masks, Starling Gallery, Portland, Oregon

2004

Snow Days, Northwest Sony Only, Portland, Oregon

2004

Trickster Project, Backdoor Theater, Portland, Oregon

2003

Critics Critiqued, Visage, Portland, Oregon

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2023

The Surprising Thing About Gratitude, public art exhibition at Canco Park in Jersey City, New Jersey

2022

Clique21, Noyes Arts Garage, Atlantic City, New Jersey

2021

Unique Minds: Creative Voices, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

2021

Clique21, Perkins Center for the Arts, Collingswood, New Jersey

2021

Letter Love, Princeton Public Library, Princeton, New Jersey

2020

TRANSITional Art Project, public art exhibition at the railway station in Atlantic City, New Jersey

2019

A Universal Feeling, Chehalem Cultural Center, Newberg, Oregon

2019

Drawn To - Women of Contemporary Illustration, Higher Art Gallery, Traverse City, Michigan

2019

Love and Fear, Montclair Public Library, Montclair, New Jersey

2018

The Doors of Make Room, public art exhibition throughout Washington, DC

2015

Implicit Bias, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, Washington, DC

2014

Portraits 2, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, Oregon

2013

The Art of Science Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC

2012

Image, Identity, Allegory, Dan and Gail Cannon Gallery of Art, Monmouth, Oregon

2011

A Somewhat Secret Place, PRESENTspace, Portland, Oregon

2010

Spread Ego, Place, Portland, Oregon

2009

Mixed, Lewis and Clark College’s Ray Warren Multicultural Symposium, Portland, Oregon

2008

Keep Portland Weird, City Hall, Portland, Oregon

2007

PDX Panels, Portland Art Center, Portland, Oregon

2006

Boredom: I Learned It by Watching You, Portland Art Center, Portland, Oregon

2003

Recent Graduate Show, Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon

Public Collections:

2020

Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France

2014

City of Portland’s Public Works Collection, Portland, Oregon

2012

Regional Arts and Culture Council’s Portable Works Collection, Portland, Oregon

2010

Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, Oregon

2003

Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

Selected Publications:

2022

The Future We Need, book by Erica Smiley and Sarita Gupta with Gwenn’s art

2022

Democracy under Fire, book by Larry Jacobs with Gwenn’s art on the cover

2020

Baby Sees ABCs, book by Gwenn

2016

Enfant et Nature, book by Valérie Chansigaud with Gwenn’s art

2016

How to Sell Your Art Online, book by Cory Huff with Gwenn’s career as an example

2015

Acrylic Color Explorations, book by Chris Cozen with Gwenn’s art

2015

Crime Against Nature: The Coloring Book, book by Gwenn

2015

Professional Artist, article by Gwenn in the April issue

2014

Painting in Acrylics, book by Lorena Kloosterboer with Gwenn’s art

2014

You Share Good, book by Gwenn

2013

Art Marketing, e-book by Gwenn

2012

Crime Against Nature, book by Gwenn with foreword by Joan Roughgarden

2010

Subjective, exhibition catalog with Gwenn’s art and foreword by Richard Brilliant

2008

Apple Pie, exhibition catalog with Gwenn’s art and foreword by Inara Verzemnieks

Selected Reviews and Interviews:

2022

Lambertville Artist Creates Animal Alphabet Book, with Help from Her Youngest Fans, Courier News and mycentraljersey.com, Jenna Intersimone

2022

‘Friend Request’ Explores Artist’s Analog Reboot, Bucks County Herald, Editor

2022

‘Friend Request’ Features People Who Befriended Lambertville Artist, New Hope Patch, Jeff Werner

2022

Dan Recommends, TAPinto Princeton, Dan Bauer

2022

Two Book Covers Are Better Than One with Artist Gwenn Seemel, Out In Jersey, Lana Leonard

2022

Lambertville Artist’s Portraits Appear on Covers of Two New Books, New Hope Patch, Michelle Rotuno-Johnson

2022

Contemporary Painter Gwenn Seemel Brings Her Easel to Lambertville, TAPinto Flemington-Raritan, Tyler Barth

2022

Labor Activist’s New Book Examines Future of Collective Bargaining, The SandPaper, Victoria Ford

2022

NFTs Are Not Utopian, Artblog, Roberta Fallon and Morgan Nitz

2021

A Year of National Crisis Affected LGBTQ Artists in NJ. What Comes Next?, Asbury Park Press, Alex Biese

2021

Yoda, Moana, SpongeBob and More Mask Up, South Jersey Magazine, Elyse Notarianni

2021

South Jersey Artist Creates Mask-positive Art During COVID-19 Pandemic, The Press of Atlantic City, Molly Bilinski

2020

Gwenn Seemel’s Paintings from ‘Baby Sees ABCs’ Now at Wildflowers Too, The SandPaper, Victoria Ford

2020

Creation and Self-expression with Gwenn Seemel, Out In Jersey, Lana Leonard

2019

Donald Trump ‘Make America White Again’ Art Removed from New Jersey Exhibit after Backlash, Newsweek, Shane Croucher

2019

Anti-Trump Painting Is Deemed Inappropriate for Montclair Public Library, NJarts.net, Jay Lustig

2017

Gwenn Seemel, Artiste Lumineuse, Framablog, Frédéric Urbain

2017

These Powerful Portraits Show People, Bust, Editor

2017

Art Exhibit Promotes Acceptance of All People, NJ Monthly, Jacqueline Klecak

2017

Surf City Artist Shows Two Sides of Real People, Asbury Park Press, Billy Anania

2016

Featured Artist: Gwenn Seemel, Redbubble Blog, Editor

2016

Ce Qui Est (Vraiment) Naturel en Termes de Genre, Mr Mondialisation, Editor

2016

Be a Great Storyteller, 99U, Jacqueline Lara

2014

Of Mouse and Man, Willamette Week, John Locanthi

2014

Creating Art in a Series, The Abundant Artist, Cory Huff

2014

Portland street performer ‘Working’ Kirk Reeves Is Honored in New Mural, The Oregonian, James Reddick

2013

Both Artists and Scientists Observe, AAAS.org, Kat Zambon

2013

Is Homosexuality Natural?, Scientific American, Kalliopi Monoyios

2013

Love in the Wild, Apartment Therapy, Tess Wilson

2013

Painter Illustrates the Diversity of Sex and Gender, Hyperallergic, Allison Meier

2013

Our Crime Against Nature, The Quiet Lunch, Editor

2013

Crime Against Nature, Boing Boing, Maggie Koerth-Baker

2012

Les Bonnes Recettes du Libre, OWNI, Lionel Maurel

2012

Imitation Is Still the Sincerest Form of Flattery, Techdirt, Leigh Beadon

2010

HOWTO Make Art Without Getting ‘Ripped Off’ Online, Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow

2010

Paint by Numbers, The Portland Business Journal, Matthew Kish

2010

1 Project, 2 Artists, 10 Subjects Make a World of Difference, The Oregonian, Margie Boulé

2009

Art for Politic’s Sake, The Oregonian, Editor

2009

Leonard Portrait Is Flattering, All Right, Oregon Live, Mary Kitch

2007

Faces from the Edge of the Earth, The Oregonian, Inara Verzemnieks

2006

In the Market for Some Portraits, The Oregonian, DK Row

Selected Video and Audio:

2023

Queerying Nature, a documentary film by Aline Magrez and Leonor Palmeira

2023

The Abundant Artist Podcast, Cory Huff

2022

NJ.com, Andre Malok

2022

2 Be Determined, Royal Thomas

2020

The Inspiration Place, Miriam Schulman

2020

ArtC, Bill Horin

2019

Artist Strong, Carrie Brummer

2019

Hip New Jersey, Lisa Marie Latino

2017

Your Creative Push, Youngman Brown

2016

Your Creative Push, Youngman Brown

2014

OPBWeb, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Ifanyi Bell

2014

State of Wonder, Oregon Public Broadcasting, April Baer

2012

CubFluffer, Gabe Flores and Mark Martinez

2010

Oregon Art Beat, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KC Cowan

2003

Artstar Radio, KPSU, Eva Lake

Selected Speaking Engagements:

2021

Pride Artist Talk, Princeton Public Library, Princeton, New Jersey

2021

Venture Café Philadelphia, Science Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2020

Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

2020

Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota

2018

The Business of Art Panel Discussion with Pierro Gallery, South Orange, New Jersey

2018

5e Colloque de l’Association pour le Développement Technologique en Éducation, Montreal, Canada

2018

South Jersey Arts Panel Discussion with ArtC, Hammonton, New Jersey

2018

Stockton University, Galloway, New Jersey

2017

PechaKucha Night, Lambertville, New Jersey

2017

4e Colloque de l’Association pour le Développement Technologique en Éducation, Lévis, Canada

2015

Rencontres Mondiales du Logiciel Libre, Beauvais, France

2014

Creative Clubhouse with Maker’s Nation, Portland, Oregon

2014

TEDxGeneva, Geneva, Switzerland

2013

Visualizing Science Policy in 20x20 with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC

2013

Portland Community College, Portland, Oregon

2011

Oregon Art Education Association Conference, Eugene, Oregon

2010

Riverside Brookfield High School, Riverside, Illinois

2007

Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon

Selected Awards:

2022

Project Grant, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, New Jersey

2019

Baby Sees ABCs Kickstarter, crowdfunding campaign

2013

Curators’ Award, Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, Oregon

2012

Emergency Relief Grant, Haven Foundation, Brewer, Maine

2012

Emergency Relief Grant, Artists’ Fellowship Inc, New York, New York

2012

Project Grant, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon

2011

Crime Against Nature Kickstarter, crowdfunding campaign

2010

Emergency Relief Grant, Haven Foundation, Brewer, Maine

2009

Emergency Relief Grant, Artists’ Fellowship Inc, New York, New York

2009

Emergency Relief Grant, Change Inc, Captiva, Florida

2009

Project Grant, Celebration Foundation, Portland, Oregon

2009

Career Opportunity Grant, Oregon Arts Commission, Salem, Oregon

2008

Project Grant, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland, Oregon

2003

Member of Phi Beta Kappa

Education:

2003

BA in Studio Art and French, summa cum laude, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

2002

Magenia, Ella Jaroszewicz’s school for mime and dance, Paris, France