Maureen Nollette

Born in Nebraska
Lives and works in Michigan, USA

I create iterations of paintings, drawings, and relief sculptures by merging traditional art-making methods and materials with ordinary objects. I utilize flattened boxes that previously held consumer goods as patterns, forming networks of lines, spaces, and shapes. Accentuated areas create moments where lines narrow, cutting paths through expansive shapes, similar to seam allowances in clothing construction.

My early appreciation for textiles is deeply woven into my studio practice. My mother taught me to sew at a young age, and through working with my hands, I discovered the magic of transforming a two-dimensional plane into three dimensions using seams, tucks, darts, and pleats. My fondness for flattened boxes is rooted in my love for sewing patterns. I see similarities between the two materials: both facilitate a transformation from two to three dimensions, are designed to be disposable, and create or house items that are deemed valuable.

Unlike clothing construction, my method embraces chance and does not have a specific outcome in mind; instead, I work to uncover a direction. This approach allows me to react to the marks and shapes in front of me, carve order out of chaos, ...

MFA, Queens College at The City University of New York, Queens, NY (Graduate Award)

BFA, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO (Painting/Printmaking)

BA, College of Journalism at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (Art/Psychology/Advertising)

2024
Annual Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition (juried), Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
The World Is On Fire, Gallery 106, Grand Rapids, MI

2023
West Michigan Area Show, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI

2022
Manufactured Narratives (juried), Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapid, MI
93rd Annual Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition (juried), Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI

2020
Works on Paper (juried), Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts, Loveladies, NJ
between/among/within (juried), Lowell Arts, Lowell, MI

2019
Introverted and OCD (invitational), Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, MI
91st Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition (juried), Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI
Endless Possibilities, NOMAD Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI

2018
Exigent, Divisible Gallery, Dayton, OH
Slightly Obsessive, LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, MI

2017
95th Annual All-Media Exhibition, The Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Perception & Intention, LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, MI
Post-Election, September Gallery, Hudson, NY
Gilding the Pussy, Project Space 337, Grand Rapids, MI

2016
Honorable Ordinaries, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI – Solo Exhibition
Inked, Pressed, ...