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Judy Bales

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  • INquire
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    • Sculpture
    • Jewelry and Body Pieces
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    Picture
    Folding and Curving

    Found material: steel, fabric, paint
    Art dimensions: 18.5" x 14" x 12"
    $850


    Picture
    Enfolding/Opening

    Found material: steel, fabric, paint
    Art dimensions: 24" x 4.5" x 4" each
    $1,000


    Picture
    Enfolded II

    Found material: steel, paint
    Art dimensions: 25.5" x 3.5" x 5"
    $400


    Picture
    Twisting Tower

    Found material: steel, fabric, paint
    Art dimensions: 12" x 5" x 4.5"
    $125


    Picture
    Tumultuous Neckpiece 1

    Stainless steel chain, safety pins, painted beads
    $175


    Picture
    Tumultuous Neckpiece 2

    Stainless steel chain, safety pins, glass beads
    $175


    metal art, metal sculptures, metal jewelry, fiber, fashion, costume, abstract, recycled, whimsical, wearable art, mixed media, industrial, salvaged, upcycled, body pieces
  • Silver Rain

    Fabric, beaded chain

    JBA170409C
    Twisting Grid 02

    Steel, fabric

    JBA190103C
    Twisting Grid 03

    Steel, fabric

    JBA190104C
    Curling Grid 02

    Steel, fabric

    JBA190107C
    Twisting Grid 01

    Steel, fabric

    JBA190102C
  • Biography/Statement
    "Building on 25 years experience as a fiber artist, sculptor, costumer for modern dance and bridge design team member; I create art that is the exciting and improbable marriage of cold industrial materials and the sensuality of nature.  I utilize industrial materials, many of which are found, recycled, or salvaged, in an ongoing effort to reveal beauty in unlikely places and stretch conventional notions of what constitutes art.
    I received my BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Georgia, majoring in painting as an undergraduate and completing post-graduate work in fiber art. This combination of very distinct even unlike disciplines has served me well and prevents my work from being precisely categorized. While closer to a fiber artist in choice of materials, I approach my art more like an abstract painter, relying on improvisation and painterly techniques rather than the more exacting, controlled approach traditionally favored by fiber artists. 

    The broad range of my work is clearly unified by a sensibility that asserts the power of an artist to create beauty from anything, and convey that simple but vital truth to an audience. By manipulating materials in ways and for contexts for which they were never intended, whether mangling the precise configuration of a plastic grid or turning a demure thrift shop dress into a cotton-and-steel amalgamation, I embrace creative transformation and a form of subversion that is alluring, whimsical and nourishing to the imagination."
    Previous Exhibitions
    Carnaval de Craft
    Inciting Rapture
    Divided|Attraction
    Previously Available Works
  • ​Education
    MFA, University of Georgia, 1983
    BFA, University of Georgia, 1975
    Additional undergraduate work: Auburn University
    Selected Solo Exhibitions
    2014       Yugen, Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia
    2012       Veil at the Vault, site specific installation sponsored by Teeple Hansen Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa
    2010       Teeple Hansen Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa
    2009       Adams Gallery, Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
    2008       ICON Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa
                  Mills Gallery, Central College, Pella, Iowa
    2007       Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln, Nebraska
    2006       Appalachian Center for Craft,  Tennessee Tech University, Smithville, Tennessee     
                  Peter Paul Luce Gallery, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
    2002       Larson Art Gallery, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
    1999       Len G. Everett Gallery, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
                  Shaw Cramer Gallery, Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
    Selected Group Exhibitions
    2017       2017 DUMA Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa
                   Inciting Rapture, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Two-person exhibition
    2016       Divided/Attraction, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received Best in Show
    2015       Datzuzoku, ArtFiftyTwo, Fairfield, Iowa
    2014       Iowa Crafts, MacNider Art Museum, Mason City, Iowa, Special Mention award
                   Whimsy, ICON Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa
    2012       Art Iowa\Inspired by the Landscape, Old Capitol Museum, Iowa City, Iowa
    2009       Synecdoche, Quad City Arts, Rock Island, Iowa. Two person exhibition.
    2005       Earth Bound, MacNider Art Museum, Mason City, Iowa. Two person exhibition.
                   Out of Fashion, Union Art Gallery, University of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    2004/05  Ready to Wear, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
    2003  Fiber Focus, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
    2001  FIBERARTinternational2001, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    2000  Foundation of a Century, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York
    1999  Iowa Artists 1999, Des Moines Art Museum, Des Moines, Iowa
             Materials:  Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, Texas
    1998  Overtones!, Convergence, Atlanta, Georgia
             Small Expressions, Atlanta International Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
             Surface: New Form/New Function, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
    1997  Paper/Fiber XX, Iowa City, Iowa
             Iowa Artists ’97, Des Moines Art Museum, Des Moines, Iowa
    1995  Vessels, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, New York
    1994  Wiggles and Spots, Delta State University, Cleveland, Mississippi
    1993  The Space Within: Contemporary Basketry in the Midwest, Waterloo Iowa Museum of Art
             Paper/Fiber XVI, Iowa City, Iowa
             Woven Vessels: Contemporary Baskets, Sheldon Memorial Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska
    1992  Needle Expressions ’92, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona
             Influences>Innovations, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, Virginia
             Iowa Artists ’92, Des Moines Art Museum, Des Moines, Iowa
    1991  Basketry from All Directions, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
             Multimedia Basketry Invitational, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 
             Contemporary Crafts, Farrell Collection, Washington, D.C.
    1990  The Spirited Touch, Archetype Gallery, New York, New York
             Basketweave ’90, Dairy Barn Gallery, Athens, Ohio
             Exploring Fiber Traditions, Views Gallery, Manayunk, Pennsylvania
    1989  Iowa Artists 1989, Des Moines Art Museum, Des Moines, Iowa
             Fast Forward, Gayle Willson Gallery, Southampton, New York
             Fiber/Weavings, The Private Collection, Cincinnati, Ohio
             Personal Packaging, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, New York
             Small and Curious Objects, Carega Foxley Leach Gallery, Washington, DC
    Public Art, Consulting and Residential Commissions
    2012  Western Route Trail Enhancements, Fairfield, Iowa
    2011  Southern Route Trail Enhancements, Fairfield, Iowa
              Sculpture Visions 2011, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, year long temporary public art display
              Artstop 2011 Project Spaces, Des Moines, Iowa, temporary public art display
    2010  Matkin Plaza, Fairfield, Iowa
              Private Residential Commission, Des Moines, Iowa, commissioned through Moberg Gallery
              Old US-80 Highway Bridge at Gila River, Maricopa County, Arizona, Aesthetic Consultant.
    2008  35th Avenue and Salt River Bridge, Phoenix, Arizona.
              Weave-Through, Blue Springs, Missouri
    2007-08  Aesthetic Consultant to Cannon TranSystems, Tucson, Arizona.
    2007   Jefferson County Trails Council Bridges on the Cedar View Trail, Fairfield, Iowa
    2005  Maryland Avenue Bridge Public Art Project, Phoenix, Arizona.
    2004  Jefferson County Trails Council Bridge over BNSF Railroad, Fairfield, Iowa
    1999  Sculptural commission for Amy O’Deen residence, Iowa City, Iowa
    1992  Sculptural commission for Delores Stiles residence, Newport News, Virginia
    Finalist Selection: Public Art Competitions
    2012  Colorado Pedestrian Bridge, Denver, Colorado
    2011  Symphony Lake Bridge, Cary, North Carolina
    2008  Davis Road Bridge at Pixley Slough Project, Stockton, California
    2007  El Dorado Street Bridge Project, Stockton, California
    2006  Ankeny to Woodward Trail Art Project, Ankeny, Iowa
    US/64 Pedestrian Greenway Bridge, Cary, North Carolina
    2005  SH-102 Bridge Reconstruction over the Turner Turnpike, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    Mt. Si Bridge Replacement Project, King County, Washington
    Artist Designed Passenger Shelter, Banner Baywood Medical Center, Mesa, Arizona
    2003  Los Angeles Fire Station #83, Los Angeles, California
    Highway 7 Corridor Public Art Project, Blue Springs, Missouri
    Des Moines East Village Storefront Public Art Project, Des Moines, Iowa
    Art  Wear Events
    2015  Omaha Fashion Week, August, 2015
    Omaha Fashion Week, March, 2015
    EcoJam Fashion Show  2015, Fairfield Convention Center, Fairfield, Iowa
    2014  EcoJam Fashion Show  2014, Fairfield Convention Center, Fairfield, Iowa
    Splatter to Sparkle, University of Iowa Museum of Art
    2013  Fabricate, International Conference for the Surface Design Association, San Antonio, Texas
    Serenity, Sondheim Center for the Arts, Fairfield, Iowa
    Veil at the Vault, costume performance at opening of installation, Teeple Hansen Gallery, Fairfield, Iowa
    2012  Persephone: A Rock Ballet, Sondheim Center, Fairfield, Iowa, 2012
    Worlds Collide, Morning Star Studio, Fairfield, Iowa
    2011  Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art Awards Show, Wellington, New Zealand
    Bodies of Water Runway Show, International Conference of the Surface Design Association
    Grants/Awards for Solo and Collaborative Projects
    2012  Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    Challenge America Fast Track Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project)
    2011  Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    2010  Challenge America Fast Track Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project)
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    2009  Iowa Arts Council Major Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project)
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    2008  Iowa Arts Council Major Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project)
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    2007  Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    2006  Arizona Engineering Excellence Grand Award awarded to TranSystems for the Maryland Avenue               Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge Over I-17, Phoenix, Arizona
    2006  Challenge America Fast Track Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project)
    2002  Challenge America Fast Track Grant (awarded to Jefferson County Trails Council for public art project).
    1993  Iowa Arts Council Mini Grant
    Papers, Presentations and Articles Published
    2012  Critical Interventions, Creating Again and Again, Fractal Patterns and Process in Improvisational African         American Quilts, No. 9/10, Spring, 2012
    2010  Surface Design Journal, Thinking Inside the Box: Infinity Within the Finite Fall, 2010, Volume 35, No 1
    2009  Fractal Geometry in African American Quilt Traditions:  Presented at the 4th Biennial Symposium of       the International Quilt Study Center & Museum: The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts, Lincoln, Nebraska
    2008  ICON Gallery Odd Thursday Presentation on fractal geometry and quilts of Rosie Lee Tompkins
    2007  ICON Gallery Odd Thursday Powerpoint presentation introducing African American quilt research
    2007  Symposium Paper on the Maryland Avenue Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge by Jerry A. Cannon, Dave         Peterson & Judy Bales, presented at the 46th IEEE Conference, New Orleans, LA, USA 2007
    Selected reviews or photos published
    Obscurae, September, 2015
    Mystica, September, 2015
    Scorpio Jin Magazine, Volume One
    Surface Design Journal, Fall, 2009, Volume 34, No 1
    The Big Fish: Consciousness as Structure, Body and Space, by Anna Bonshek, Rodopi, 2007
    Surface Design Journal, Informed Source, Spring 2005, Volume 29
    Fiberarts Design Book Seven, Lark Books, 2004
    Ornament, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2003/04
    Fiberarts Design Book Six, Lark Books, 1999
    American Craft Magazine, Gallery, February/March, 1999
    Fiberarts, New Works, September/October, 1997
    American Craft Magazine, Gallery, December/January, 1995
    American Craft Magazine, Portfolio, December/January, 1993
    American Craft Magazine, Gallery, October/November, 1990
    Visiting Artist Presentations and Residencies
    1999-2012 Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia
    Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia
    Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
    University of Wisconsin, River Falls, Wisconsin
    Monmouth College, Monmouth Illinois
    American Trails Symposium, Davenport, Iowa
    Iowa: Central College, Cornell College, Mt. Mercy College and Maharishi University of Management.
    1989       Resident Artist, Artpark, Lewiston, New York
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Gilded Pear Gallery
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