About
WHO:
Gwenn Seemel (she/her)
WHAT:
artist, humanist, and uncopyrighting advocate
WHEN:
full-time since 2003
WHERE:
Long Beach Island, New Jersey by way of France and Portland, Oregon
HOW:
My polka-dot cubist painting style has been delighting art lovers and inspiring artists for two decades now. In 2017, a tech company recognized my contribution to the look of the new millennium by naming a photo filter “the Seemel,” a distinction that would have astonished teenage Gwenn, who taught herself to use acrylic paint by copying Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Portraits are my first love, and I’m known for painting groups of people for the purpose of exploring particular issues, like the American immigrant experience with Apple Pie and all the ways we hide from each other with Empathetic Magic. I also create conceptual work that is not portraits, like this feminist science picture book and this unusual ABC book.
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 San Francisco and partly in a small village in Brittany. Eventually, my family settled in the United States, in Oregon, and, for over twenty years, I lived there.
In 2003, I earned my BA summa cum laude from Willamette University. That same year, I launched my career in Portland, and I’ve been a full-time artist ever since, sharing my art throughout the US and also in France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada.
I spent the first twelve years of my career based out of Oregon and, in 2015, moved to Surf City, New Jersey, where I currently live with my partner. We’re childfree, 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.
Since 2010, I have been creating videos about art making and art marketing, like the one embedded above. Since 2012, I’ve been writing books. I am the recipient of multiple grants, from Artists’ Fellowship Inc and the Haven Foundation among other institutions. My work has been written about by the art historian Richard Brilliant and featured widely across the web, on sites like Boing Boing, Bust, Your Creative Push, Hyperallergic, and Newsweek.
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.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
- 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:
- 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
- 2020
- Resistant Women, Merseles Studios, Jersey City, New Jersey
- 2019
- A Universal Feeling, Chehalem Cultural Center, Newberg, Orgeon
- 2019
- Strobe Sensational Seven, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, Millville, New Jersey
- 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, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, Virginia
- 2018
- The Doors of Make Room, public art exhibition throughout Washington, DC
- 2018
- Corporeal, LITM, Jersey City, New Jersey
- 2018
- Women’s History Exhibition, Meagher Rotunda Gallery, Jersey City, New Jersey
- 2017
- September Show, Wildflowers Too, Barnegat Light, New Jersey
- 2015
- Implicit Bias, Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery, Washington, DC
- 2015
- Widening the Cycle, Suffolk University’s SMCR Conference, Boston, Massachusetts
- 2014
- Art Beat Exhibition, Peoples Art, Portland, Oregon
- 2014
- Portraits 2, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, Oregon
- 2013
- The Art of Science Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC
- 2013
- A Chronicle of Influence, Museum and ARTspace, Lake Oswego, Oregon
- 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
- inCLOVER, Mount Scott Park, Portland, Oregon
- 2006
- Boredom: I Learned It by Watching You, Portland Art Center, Portland, Oregon
- 2003
- Recent Graduate Show, Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon
- 2003
- Senior Art Show, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, 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:
- 2020
- Baby Sees ABCs, book by Gwenn
- 2017
- Clark Hulings Fund Learning Portal, article 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
- Widening the Cycle, exhibition catalog with Gwenn’s art
- 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
- 2013
- T(OUR), literary art magazine with Gwenn’s art
- 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:
- 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
- 2019
- Anti-Trump Painting Removed from Art Exhibit in Montclair, Montclair Patch, Eric Kiefer
- 2018
- Surf City Portrait Painter Makes Public Art in DC, The SandPaper, Victoria Ford
- 2018
- Gwenn Seemel: All About Sharing, Studio Tour Magazine, Thom Reaves
- 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
- Character craft, The SandPaper, Victoria Ford
- 2016
- Droit de Copie, Tout Va Mieux, Julie Guillot
- 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
- You’re Not a Proper Patron of Portland’s Arts Scene Until You’ve..., Willamette Week, Editor
- 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, Tech Dirt, 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
- Interview: Gwenn Seemel, Sweet Station, Welshie
- 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:
- 2020
- The Inspiration Place, Miriam Schulman
- 2020
- Phoenix 15 Studios, Gene Davis
- 2020
- 2BD, Royal Thomas II
- 2020
- ArtC, Bill Horin
- 2019
- Artist Strong, Carrie Brummer
- 2019
- Hip New Jersey, Lisa Marie Latino
- 2017
- Your Creative Push, Youngman Brown
- 2017
- Pink Power Tour Festival, Marie Guibouin
- 2017
- The Filmmakers Podcast, Damien Swaby
- 2016
- Your Creative Push, Youngman Brown
- 2014
- OPBWeb, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Ifanyi Bell
- 2014
- State of Wonder, Oregon Public Broadcasting, April Baer
- 2014
- Creative Insurgents, Cory Huff and Melissa Dinwiddie
- 2012
- CubFluffer, Gabe Flores and Mark Martinez
- 2010
- Oregon Art Beat, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KC Cowan
- 2008
- EZone, PDX49, Chloe Houser and Darcy Zettler
- 2004
- 10 O’Clock News, KPTV, Shauna Parsons
- 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:
- 2019
- Artist Residency, Camp Stomping Ground, Deposit, New York
- 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
- 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