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In-betweens 1 (Uncertainty)
fur pelt creature printed on cotton rag paper, 2-plate color etching (15 x 22”)
monotype slip shorts kitakata with screenprint & thread.
2023
Guen Montgomery
“ Methodologically, my work thinks by way of touch and pressure, which I relate both to the process of printmaking and to the somatic search for connection and a body-boundary. Having a baby was a confounding experience because her DNA got all mixed in with mine, teaching me that my person is porous. At one point, there was no deliniation between my body and my mother’s, and at another point, her body contained my body, which also contained the genetic material for my daughter’s body. I still don’t feel fully separate from either my mother or my daughter. If I think about it too long, the boundary between any body and my own becomes invented, which makes me feel like the boundaries around objects and environments are invented too. It’s only by pushing against another person or being through touch that I can feel the edge, printmaking is another way of pushing to find that edge.”
Guen Montgomery is an artist and performer whose work investigates identity through studies of gender, regional narrative, and family mythology. Her recent work looks at the queer life of things, the longing to acquire, and how objects perform identity. Materially, Montgomery’s work is located in the intersections between printmaking, performance, and sculpture. Montgomery has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has work in multiple public collections including the Centre for Art and Design in Churchill Australia, and Mushashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan, with recent exhibitions in Nashville and St. Louis. Guen currently teaches in the Studio Arts program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she lives surrounded by everyday treasures with her wife, dog, and two cats.
In-betweens 1 (Uncertainty)
fur pelt creature printed on cotton rag paper, 2-plate color etching (15 x 22”)
monotype slip shorts kitakata with screenprint & thread.
2023
Guen Montgomery
“ Methodologically, my work thinks by way of touch and pressure, which I relate both to the process of printmaking and to the somatic search for connection and a body-boundary. Having a baby was a confounding experience because her DNA got all mixed in with mine, teaching me that my person is porous. At one point, there was no deliniation between my body and my mother’s, and at another point, her body contained my body, which also contained the genetic material for my daughter’s body. I still don’t feel fully separate from either my mother or my daughter. If I think about it too long, the boundary between any body and my own becomes invented, which makes me feel like the boundaries around objects and environments are invented too. It’s only by pushing against another person or being through touch that I can feel the edge, printmaking is another way of pushing to find that edge.”
Guen Montgomery is an artist and performer whose work investigates identity through studies of gender, regional narrative, and family mythology. Her recent work looks at the queer life of things, the longing to acquire, and how objects perform identity. Materially, Montgomery’s work is located in the intersections between printmaking, performance, and sculpture. Montgomery has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has work in multiple public collections including the Centre for Art and Design in Churchill Australia, and Mushashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan, with recent exhibitions in Nashville and St. Louis. Guen currently teaches in the Studio Arts program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she lives surrounded by everyday treasures with her wife, dog, and two cats.