Bio:
A born (1963) & raised Minnesotan living in PA, Danielle Callahan appreciates adaptability. She has a BFA in Studio Arts with Painting & Drawing concentrations. Holding multiple jobs throughout college required extending a "4 year degree" to 7 years. Social justice & childcare work were other occupying focuses. Nearly a decade post graduation, trips to Belfast & Inishmore, Ireland inspired her to explore visually again. She initiated a foray into glass sculpture, which segued into wood fired ceramics thanks to a Jerome Foundation/St. John's Pottery Artist Fellowship. Callahan's time with infants & toddlers continues to inform her willingness to experiment.
Curator & longtime friend Allyson Evans observes, "Danielle's work with clay is rhythmic and simple, not fussy...(she) works with what happens, making purpose out of mishap in a beautiful way."
Artist Statement:
Much of my work starts with play.
Energy is crucial to creating & raw clay suits my approach. I cut, poke, drop, splay, twist, press & sometimes re-attach sliced off or fallen pieces. Favorite sticks, rocks, bricks & my fingers prod a form; experiences & observations emerge. Layers are intriguing, so I embrace wood firing, open to both rugged & subtle results. I also happily employ a range of found or gifted items like nails, cloth, wire & wood. Essentially, dialogs & relationships between materials & people fascinate me. Everyone has exposures to call on and we react in our own way to textures, patterns & colors. Emotional, intellectual, spiritual or undefined, there is power in concocting.
Bodies of work include chunky gestural ceramic sculptures and dynamic wall panels, in addition to drawings & paintings. (Unfired clay-allowed to deteriorate-is an alluring new avenue for me.) Wall panels are comprised of handmade tiles, individually rolled, cut & often pressed into sidewalk cracks, tree bark or grass outside. Sculptures are mainly intense focused releases. All works divulge & may convey a range of emotions. (Wonder, joy, confusion, frustration, despair...) On-going health struggles can infiltrate my work, as well as concerns for community, US & world.
I'm humbled my Partner sees my art as imbued with "animus" (Latin)-a conveyance of my purpose, spirit, soul, breath.
CV
BFA Studio Arts-Drawing/Painting.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
Pioneer Fund Scholarship for mixed media work.
Glass Artist Assistant to Joseph Becker & Peter Zelle, MN
FELLOWSHIP
Jerome Foundation & St. John's Pottery Emerging Artist (2000), MN
Johanna Kiln Fifth wood firing with Richard Bresnahan, Collegeville, MN
"Body of Clay, Soul of Fire" Traveling Exhibition Featuring Art of
Richard Bresnahan, Apprentices & Emerging Artists.
MN, WI, ND & SD. 2001 -2003
*sculpture in book Body of Clay, Soul of Fire by Dr. Mathew Welch.
GRANTS
Contemporary Glass Philadelphia (CGP) Grantee. 2002
EXHIBITIONS
National Biennial Contemporary Clay 2022
Juror: Fong Choo
The Art Center, Western Colorado Center for the Arts
Grand Junction, CO May/June 2022
Little Things Matter: Small Scale Sculpture
Juror: George Beasley
U of Southern MS Gallery of Art and Design
Hattiesburg, Mississippi Oct/Nov 2021
Women of Woodfire
Juror: Brett Binford
Eutectic Gallery
Portland, Oregon June 2021
HOME
Juror: Susanna Gold
Duke Gallery
Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA. February/March 2021
The Clay Studio National
Jury Team: Sana Musasama, Lauren Sandler & Kukuli Velarde.
The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA. July/August 2020
National Contemporary Clay 2020 Biennial Juried Exhibition
Juror: Bill van Gilder.
The Art Center, Western Colorado Center for the Arts. June 2020
The Great Divide
Juror: Bruce Dehnert.
Morean Center for Clay, St. Petersburg, FL. Dec. 2019-Jan 2020
Earth Devised: A National Exhibition of Ceramic Art
Juror: Richard "Rick" Nickel.
The d'Art Center, Norfolk, VA 2019
Shapes of Influence National Ceramic Biennial
Juror: Simon Levin.
Springfield Art Association. Springfield, IL 2018
Contemporary Clay 2018 National Biennial
Juror: Doug Casebeer.
The Art Center, Western Colorado Center for the Arts. 2018
HWD 12th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition
Juror: Patrick Mauk.
Rosewood Arts Centre, Kettering, OH 2018
8th Regional Juried Biennial Exhibition
Juror: Ben Simons.
Corkran and Tubbs Galleries, Rehoboth Art League, DE 2018
A Celebration of Art & Life
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine,
Philadelphia, PA 2013, 2014, 2015
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Member Show 2014
Landscape Exhibition
Large scale temporary mixed media installation.
Schuylkill Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Hot Soup CGP Grant Recipient Exhibition Philadelphia, PA 2002
Moravian Pottery & Tileworks Festival Artist, Doylestown, PA
The Dreamer Lens cd cover art collaboration, Chester, PA
INSTALLATIONS & SITE WORKS
"Labyrinth Sculpture" Up-cycled Chestnut beam inlaid w/tree bark textured tiles, copper sheet.
Peter Becker Community, Harleysville, PA
"My North Philly" Multi-year project with Philadelphia Mural Arts.
Community Tile Workshop Artist/Facilitator & Installer
Kensington & Nicetown/Tioga neighborhoods, Philadelphia, PA 2006-2007
Butterfly Tile Bench Concrete sculpture butterfly form embedded with handmade wood fired tiles.
St. John's Arboretum Prairie Restoration Project. Collegeville, MN
"Glass Rocks" Blown glass sculpture forms integrated into existing stone walls.
Inis Mor, Aran Islands, Ireland
Private commissions.