V Mann

It is a strange life, when I consider it, how I struggle to attain strength and clarity, to mold base materials into forms that will express me and my attitude, my joy and appreciation. I work alone, who cares if I produce anything or not, or if anyone appreciates it? Still I believe a good thing will not perish.

My paintings are landscapes for the viewer to enter and explore, decoding the meanings behind combinations of clippings and colors, challenging them to understand the association between juxtaposed elements and phrases. I am motivated by the challenge of defining areas of vast space, and the struggle to express my most inner thoughts and ideas to the viewer.

I collect printed materials gathered over a lifetime by myself and others; a newspaper clipping from the Moon Landing my grandmother saved, a flyer from a show I saw in Toronto, or a ticket stub from a movie with someone I loved. Materials layered like paint through a collage technique I have been developing over the years using acrylic paint and a variety of stains, glazes, and pigments made from dirt and ash on masonite canvases, or parts of barns and houses. These materials were taken from an old family farm on Gumlick Road in Roanoke, Kentucky, the objects I'...

The Art Institute of Cincinnati '96

Pendleton County High School '94

2011 BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
2009 Chapman Friedman Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky
2008 Syntetica, Cincinnati, Ohio
2008 El Ojito Springs, Tucson, Arizona
2008 Art Access, Columbus, Ohio
2008 Artonomy, Cincinnati, Ohio
2007 The Greenwich, Cincinnati, Ohio
2007 Terra Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2007 The Agora, Columbus, Ohio
2007 The Marx Gallery, Covington, Kentucky
2006 qTen, Westerville, Ohio
2006 Art For Life, Columbus, Ohio
2006 Xoma Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2006 The Kirsten Bowen Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2005 The Schumacher Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2005 Durkin’s Eclectic Art Limited, Columbus, Ohio
2005 MadLab, Columbus, Ohio
2005 “M” an Ultramodern Gallery, Covington, Kentucky 2004 St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, Covington, Kentucky 2003 Studio ASH, Columbus, Ohio
2003 Cox Fine Arts Center/OSF, Columbus, Ohio
2002 Edward Hopper House Art Center, Nyack, New York 2002 Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, North Carolina 2002 Franklin Square Gallery, Southport, North Carolina