Megan Whitmarsh (born 1972 in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

) is an American artist living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Whitmarsh received an MFA from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

and a BFA from the

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute ...

, both in painting. Working predominantly with textiles, Whitmarsh uses hand-stitched embroidery to fabricate replicas of personal and cultural ephemera. Her embroidered canvases and soft sculptures reference contemporary

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

culture and the 1970s and '80s eras of her childhood. Her most recent body of work, Fabricated Revisions, consists of "imagined, handmade revisions" of past covers of prominent art magazines, featuring female artists who were overlooked at the time. About this body of work, Whitmarsh notes, "The way that I am interested in feminism is the way I am interested in many things. It's something peripheral to my view that influences my vision rather than being a focus. I am interested in watching the process of feminism rather than trying to locate it. I don't believe I could locate it… The artists I find compelling are mostly women and I decided to pay tribute to this personal fact. Many of these works are from a fictionalized past. From 1970-1980, Artforum devoted 5 of its 99 covers to women artists." Whitmarsh has shown her work internationally, including solo exhibitions at

New Image Art New Image Art is an art gallery in West Hollywood, California. It was founded and is directed by Marsea Goldberg, started in 1994.

, Jack Hanley (NY), Elaine Levy Project (Brussels), Kling & Bang Gallery (Reykjavik), Krets Galleri (Malmo), and Katherine Mulherin Contemporary Art Projects (Toronto), among others. Her work has been included in group shows at the Zürich Museum of Design, Wolfsonian Museum (at Art Basel Miami Beach), Galerie Libraire (Hong Kong),

White Columns White Columns is New York City's oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted i ...

and

Gavin Brown's Enterprise Gavin Brown's enterprise was an art gallery with venues in New York City and Rome owned by Gavin Brown between 1994 and 2020. In 2020, it merged with Gladstone Gallery. History Broome Street The gallery was established by Gavin Brown in 1994 on ...

as part of the Drunk vs. Stoned show. In 1996 Whitmarsh began creating merchandise under the moniker "Tiny Industries", self-publishing Snow Monkey comic books, producing puppet shows and 6mm stop action short films as well as making hand-embroidered wallets and bags. Since 2006, Tiny Industries has been on hiatus due to the demands of Whitmarsh's fine art career. In 2010, Whitmarsh was commissioned by

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...

to do the embroidery for "Simple Times, Crafts for Poor People". She was also commissioned by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

to embroider the cover artwork of his "Ride Rise Roar" tour DVD.

Todd Oldham Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior designs, books an ...

has used two of her drawings for paint-by-numbers sets in his Kid Made Modern line of craft and art projects for children. In 2018 Hammer Museum curators announced that Whitmarsh would be one of the 32 artists included in the fourth edition of the ''Made in LA'' biennial, scheduled from June 3 to September 2, 2018. Between 1998 and 2000, Whitmarsh played keyboard as a founding member of the instrumental band

The Hong Kong The Hong Kong originally formed in New Orleans, but became more established after regrouping in Brooklyn. They are known for mixing a 1960s feel with modern indie rock sensibilities. They have also been compared to Blondie. In 2000, the band ...

, with Harold Griffin, Matt Salata, and Aaron Carroll.

References

External links

Official Website

Megan Whitmarsh CV

''Megan Whitmarsh: Who Says Art Can't be Seriously Fun?'', Paper Magazine. Dec 4, 2013.

''Megan Whitmarsh on Originality'', Observer Media: Design Observer, Nov 29, 1913. (Audio Interview)

''The Extraordinary Megan Whitmarsh'', Kid Made Modern, Jan 8, 2013. (Video Interview)

''We Can Do It! - Talking Trash with Megan Whitmarsh'', Imaginary Company, Dec 10, 2012. (Video Interview)

''THIS Visits: Megan Whitmarsh'', Incase, May 12, 2011. (Video Interview)

''Megan Whitmarsh Feature'' The Creative Lives, 2011. (Video Interview)

''Megan Whitmarsh'', Giant Robot 63, March 1, 2010. (Video Interview)

''Radiant Artifacts': Megan Whitmarsh on 'bedlam , SF Gate, Oct 21, 2010.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmarsh, Megan 1972 births Living people 21st-century American artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Massachusetts Kansas City Art Institute alumni University of New Orleans alumni American embroiderers Textile artists from Massachusetts Textile artists from California Artists from Los Angeles