Danielle Callahan

Bio:

 

A born (1963) & raised Minnesotan now living in PA, Danielle Callahan appreciates adaptability.  She has a BFA in Studio Arts with Painting & Drawing concentrations.  After graduation, work with toddlers & activist organizing were primary focuses.  Nearly a decade later, trips to Belfast & Inishmore, Ireland inspired her to explore visually again. A foray into glass sculpture segued into Callahan's introduction to wood fired ceramics via a Jerome Foundation/St. John's Pottery Artist Fellowship.  Her time with children continues to inform her willingness to experiment without extensive formal knowledge of materials.  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 primary 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 good so I embrace wood firing, open to both rugged & subtle results. Dialogs between materials & people fascinate me.  Everyone has exposures to call on and reacts in their own way to various textures, patterns & colors.

 

Current bodies of work include chunky gestural sculptures, dynamic wall panels, drawings & paintings. Wall panels are comprised of handmade tiles-individually rolled, cut, then usually pressed into sidewalk cracks, tree bark or grass outside.  Sculptures are primarily intense focused releases. All works divulge & convey a range of emotions. (Wonder, joy, confusion, frustration, despair...) On-going health struggles often infiltrate my work, as do concerns for the 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 

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   

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.

Peter Becker Community, Harleysville, PA

 

"My North Philly" Multi-year project with Philadelphia Mural Arts.

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.