Bio
Born in 1953 in the suburbs of Chicago, Carla Stetson grew up in a house next to the railroad tracks on the outskirts of urban development. The Midwestern border ecology of urban encroachment on remnant prairie had a large impact on her childhood and continues to be reflected in her work.
She attended Kansas City Art Institute in the early 70s working in performance art and installation, documenting this work in photographs and video.
In 1987 Stetson moved to Minnesota, settling in Duluth for over 20 years. There she created three large-scale public sculptures for the City of Duluth along with many other art works and installation projects. She is best known for creating the Clayton Jackson McGhee Memorial, (2003) the first large scale memorial to victims of lynching in the United States.
In 2008, Stetson relocated to Ithaca, New York, to take a job as Professor of Art at Ithaca College. She currently works out of a large renovated barn studio/home on top of a hillside , where she lives with her partner David Hopkins.
Brief Resume of Exhibitions
2014
Natural Histories, Anderson Center for the Arts, Red Wing, Minnesota. Solo
Aerial Reconnaissance, Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. Solo and collaborative work
2013
Confluence/Confluencia, collaborative installations with Cecilia Ramon, and individual works. Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota
2011
Ornithography, Gallery at Found, Ithaca, New York. Solo
2010 Cecilia Ramon and Carla Stetson: Flight, Concordia University St. Paul. Two-person show
2008
Three Ways to Fly, Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, Minnesota. Solo
Other Witnesses; Great River Arts Gallery, Little Falls, Minnesota. Solo
2007
Carla Stetson, New Work, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina. Solo
The Red Line, Downtown Rock Hill, South Carolina. Solo installation
2006
Skins of Ice and Other Thin Layers, Wood Gallery, Vermont College, Montpelier, Vermont. Solo
2005
The Red Line, North End Art Center, Superior Wisconsin. Exterior installation. Solo
2003
A Bird in the Hand, Recent Work, J Pepper Art Gallery; Knife River, Minnesota. Solo 2003
The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial: Public Art/Community Healing, Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, Minnesota. Solo
2002
The Secret Pattern of Things, Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota. Solo
1999
Sewing/Sowing Time, Intermedia Gallery, Minneapolis, Art-in-Space Program. Solo installation
1984
Everywoman Heart Stand Up, Wall Street Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota. Two-person show with Julie Lemon
1981
Carla Stetson and Ann Finholt, Bethel College Gallery, St. Paul, Minnesota. Two-person show
1977
Salad Extraordinaire, Jim Leedy Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri. Two-person show with Cathy Logan
National and International Juried Group Exhibitions
2013
Wide Open, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition, Brooklyn, New York. Juror: Carrie Springer, Assistant Curator, Whitney Museum of Art
2012
Mirror Images, Kreft Center for the Arts, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jurors: Gloria Pritschet and Rocco DePietro, co-directors of Gallery Project, Ann Arbor
2011
Fourteenth International Open Exhibition, Woman Made Art Gallery,
Chicago, Illinois. Juror: Laura Anderson Barbata, Professor, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, México
2010
The Horse, Kinlaw Library Gallery, Asbury University, Kentucky
Juror: Dr. Linda Stratford, Associate Professor of Art, Asbury University
2009
Mirando Al Sur, Woman Made Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Juror: Dolores Mercado, Associate Curator at the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, Illinois
Quilts=Art=Quilts, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York Jurors: Rosalie Dace, Durban, South Africa; Kerr Grabowski, Sussex, New Jersey; Margo Mensing, Saratoga Springs, New York
Collage and Assemblage, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York Juror: Director of Schweinfurth Art Center.
2008
National Photography Exhibition, Main Street Gallery, Groton, New York
Juror: Andrea Inselmann, curator at the Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York
2006
Artists-in-Residence Exhibition, McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, North Carolina. Curator: Ce Scott
2002
The Political Woman, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois.
Juried by Carrie Secrist, Carrie Secrist Gallery and Christy Hefner, Playboy Enterprises.
Regional and State Juried Group Exhibitions
2012
Made in New York, Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York.
Jurors: Richard Kegler, founder and lead designer at P22 type foundry, and Western New York Book Arts Center; and Sydney L. Waller, Independent Arts Consultant and Curator, and past executive director of Sculpture Space in Utica, New York
Inspiring Thousands, Roberson Museum, Binghamton, New York. Jurors: Kathryn Niles, Professor of Art, Binghamton University and George Dugan, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Cortland
2011
Southern Tier Biennial, Olean, New York.
Jurors: Marie Via, Director of Exhibitions of the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY and Gerald Meade, independent curator and arts writer, Buffalo State College
2007
MAC Picks, Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Minnesota. Juried by Robert Bowman, education director of the center
2006
Arrowhead Biennial, Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota.
Juror: Laurel Reuter, Director of the North Dakota Museum of Art
2004
Arrowhead Biennial, Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota. Juror: Christi Atkinson, Associate Director of Education, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
2002
Annual Juried Exhibition, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
2000
Arrowhead Biennial, Duluth Art Institute, Minnesota, Juried show.
Annual Juried Exhibition, MacRostie Art Center; Grand Rapids, Minnesota Juror: Peter Spooner, Curator, Tweed Museum of Art
1999
Art in a Cold Climate, Tweed Museum of Art; Duluth, Minnesota.
Jurors: Patricia Canelake, artist, and Valerie Jenson, Professor of Art, College of Visual Arts
1980
Minnesota Women ’80, Warm Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota Juried by Professor Susan Lucey, University of Minnesota
1977
Women Artists ’77, University of Missouri, Kansas City. Juried by artist, Miriam Shapiro.