A gallery favorite for both her unusual and thoughtful work, and her ability to teach us about art in general, Liz Bashore Heeren earned an MFA in art theory at the University of South Dakota in 2000. Her current work incorporates elements of drafting and technical drawing in addition to traditional painting techniques. Each work explores the surprising, unpredicable relationships that result from the overlap of unlike habitats and organisms. Due in part to a background in biology, Liz finds inspiration in documenting zones of biological reconfiguration - often time resourcing areas of new construction/development.
Heeren's work featured on the site depicts an underwater environment, where ocean life encounters manmade structures within its environment. Painted from various perspectives, the viewer is drawn to hints of living organisms contrasted against an almost harsh, utilitarian landscape.
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Liz, in her words:
My recent work surveys rough terrains and unexplored voids - representing "the wild" - in conjunction with mathematically precise, human-made conduit. These painted works incorporate marks achieved through traditional drawing processes, a reference to the science of planning and engineering. The natural world is likewise articulated through reference to reacting/interacting living organisms and their habitats. The experimental process and contemplation behind these paintings is linked to an ongoing personal curiosity about the ever-changing relationship between humans and organisms situated in a world of flux.