STATEMENT

I began painting on aluminum twelve years ago as a means to capture nature in a contemporary context. The exposed aluminum areas create a stark contrast to my landscape subject matter, removing nostalgia and adding a sense of time. Despite our fast-paced, industrialized world, we are still innately tied to the land and continually seek to reconnect. Today more than ever, with the realities of global warming and depleted natural resources, the fate of nature seems to lie in the hands of mankind and advances in science and technology. My paintings are about this intertwining of two seeming opposites, about finding a balance between nature and our twenty-first century world.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

 I use both aluminum and stainless steel as the support for my landscape paintings. Working all aspects of the metal myself allows me to control how the exposed borders and shapes interact within the piece. The metal is first cut and then secured to a traditional wood support frame. The areas I wish to remain raw metal are masked while the areas to be painted are prepared using industrial primers. This ensures good adhesion between the paint and metal surfaces. I love the look of the metal’s natural, reflective surface. For this reason I do not coat it with any sealers or varnishes.

The exposed metal is susceptible to scratching and fingerprints will leave a mark. To preserve the metal’s pristine reflective surface, always handle the painting with cotton gloves and clean any fingerprints with a mild degreaser on a soft cotton rag. I recommend Weiman® Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Mai Wyn Schantz is a 1999 graduate of Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver, CO and has been exhibiting professionally for over ten years. Her work is included in many private and corporate collections including the Weidner Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, the Aurora Arts Council in Colorado and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance in Wisconsin. In 2006 she was included in her first museum exhibition Up North: Imaging Northwoods Culture and Mythology at the Museum of Wisconsin Art and in 2008, was featured in a solo exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities in Colorado. She is represented by Edgewood Orchard Galleries and Grace Chosy Gallery in her native Wisconsin, and at Harris Gallery in Houston, TX. She now resides in Denver, CO.

RESUME

SELECT SOLO & FEATURED ARTIST EXHIBITIONS

September 2011 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

August 2009 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
September 2008 Harris Gallery, Houston, TX
October 2007 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
September 2007 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI
October 2007 Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI
August 2005 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI
May 2005 Artpost Gallery, Lines of Commitment Grafton, WI
December 2004 Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, MN
May 2004 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
September 2003 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI
August 2003 Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO
April 2003 Artpost Gallery, Grafton, WI
October 2002 Wisconsin Union Galleries, Madison, WI
July 2001 Zoë Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
November 1999 Guiry Gallery, Denver, CO
August 1999 Z Wick Place, Denver, CO

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

January 2010 Ice Breaker Juried Show, Ice Cube Gallery. Denver, CO

June 2007 Sandra Phillips Gallery, In Focus, Denver, CO
August 2006 Philip J. Steele Gallery, RMCAD juried alumni exhibition, Denver, CO
December 2005 JMKAC ArtSpace, One & Only, Kohler, WI
December 2005 Katie Gingrass Gallery, All Wrapped Up, Milwaukee, WI
October 2005 Artpost, 4th Annual Founders Exhibit, Grafton, WI
October 2004 Artpost, 3rd Annual Founders Exhibit, Grafton, WI
January 2004 Zoe Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
October 2003 Artpost, 2nd Annual Founders Exhibit, Grafton, WI
October 2003 Cedarburg Cultural Center, Annual Juried Show, Cedarburg, WI
April 2003 Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
October 2002 Artpost Gallery, Grafton, WI
September 2002 Cedarburg Cultural Center, Annual Juried Show, Cedarburg, WI
March 2001 Tory Folliard Gallery, Emerging Artists, Milwaukee, WI

MUSEUM & ART CENTER EXHIBITIONS

June 2011 Western Colorado Center for the Arts, National Contemporary Exhibition (invited artist), Grand Junction, CO

April 2009 Foothills Art Center, Colorado Art Open, juried, Golden, CO
September 2008 Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, solo exhibition, Arvada, CO
September 2007 Cedarburg Cultural Center, solo exhibition, Cedarburg, WI
August 2006 West Bend Art Museum, Up North, West Bend, WI
March 2005 John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 8 Counties, juried, Sheboygan, WI
June 2001 John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 8 Counties, juried, Sheboygan, WI
January 2001 Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, RMCAD alumni, Denver, CO

PUBLICATIONS

Porcupine Literary Arts Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 1
Cover artist and featured portfolio artist

GALLERY REPRESENTATION

Edgewood Orchard Galleries. Fish Creek, WI www.edgewoodorchard.com
Grace Chosy Gallery. Madison, WI www.gracechosygallery.com
Harris Gallery. Houston, TX www.harrisgalleryhouston.com

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

All Saints Hospital - St. Luke’s Health Pavilion, Racine, WI
Alverno College - Sacajawea Award Commission, Milwaukee, WI
Aurora Arts Council, Aurora, CO
Lockton Company, Denver, CO
Northwestern Mutual Life, Franklin, WI
Port Washington State Bank, Grafton, WI
Roth Gerber, Denver, CO
Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee, WI
Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, UW-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI

West Bend Mutual Insurance, West Bend, WI

EDUCATION

August 1999 Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design Denver, CO
BFA / Painting & Drawing, Valedictorian