About the Artist
For the last few years, I have been building and exploring spaces in which I find myself “Surrounded by Dicks.” Through video and installation, I’ve created worlds that comically reflect my own life experiences, emphasizing the misogyny present in places like the labor force, the art world, the gym, organized religion, even my own home. From penis-printed clothes and bedding, to phallic-shaped tools, shoes, trees, and politicians, there is no escaping the power of the “phallacy”. My performances feature a character who has been so jaded by this constant, ever-present, in-your-face patriarchy, she doesn’t seem to notice, and hardly seems to care. There is an implicit complicity present in these worlds.
Now, weary of Planet Patriarchy, I’ve taken my work on an interstellar voyage of faux-futuristic-fem. Through the powers of craft and craftsmanship, by way of the magic of storytelling, and with the enchanting ability to never take myself too seriously, I have discovered a pink planet full of vaginal flowers and lactating fungi; of feminine power, beauty, and self-reliance that could only flourish outside our own toxic atmosphere. Or in the open minds of those who are receptive.
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Jeanna Mead is a visual artist working in sculpture, installation, performance, and video. As an educator, Jeanna has taught Three-Dimensional Design, Beginning Sculpture, Advanced Sculpture, and Topics in Sculpture at the University at Albany. She has earned the MFA Departmental Commendation Award, the Roanne Kulakoff Award in recognition of her artwork, and the Steve Street Award for her artistic commitment to social justice issues. She currently resides in upstate New York, where the artistic debris of her practice tends to spill into her kitchen, much to the chagrin of her husband, two sons, four cats, and dog.
CV
Jeanna Mead
Education
2022 MFA, University at Albany, Albany, NY
2020 BA summa cum laude, Studio Art, Minor in Art History, University at Albany, Albany, NY
2007 Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, NY (Studio Art courses)
Exhibitions and Commissioned Projects
2024 Dissecting the Binary, Lark Hall Gallery, Albany, NY
2023 Cleanse//Cleanse, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
Panty Riot, The Storefront, Troy, NY
Absurdity: In Dada We Trust, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Tag, You're It, Curated by Opalka Gallery, Albany Public Library, Albany, NY
Panty Riot, The Storefront Gallery, Troy, NY
Cleanse//Cleanse, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
2022 WTF, The Storefront Gallery, Troy, NY
Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, University Art Museum, Albany, NY
2021 Best of SUNY Exhibition, H Carl McCall SUNY Building, Albany, NY
2020 The Other Virus, 344 Second St., Troy, NY
Honors Exhibition, University at Albany, Albany, NY
2019 In-Faux-Structure, Opalka Gallery, Albany NY
LARAC Members Show, Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, Glens Falls, NY.
120 Intercollegiate Art Regional, juried by Kelli Germain, Cara Greenslade, and Will Fowler, Curated by Philip A. Casabona, Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council, Glens Falls, NY.
The Shape of Things, Chrome, Waterford, NY
2018 At Capacity, University at Albany, Albany, NY
Commissioned Project for Saratoga City Ballet, The Egg, Albany, NY
Site-specific Installation, Boor Sculpture Studio, Albany, NY
Commissioned Project, Waterford, NY
2017 Commissioned Project for Halfmoon Celebrations, Halfmoon, NY
Site-specific Installation, Halfmoon Town Hall, Halfmoon, NY
Teaching Experience
2023-Present Adjunct Professor, University at Albany, Albany, NY (Classes Taught: Beginning Sculpture, Advanced Sculpture, Topics in Sculpture)
2022-Present Substitute Teacher, Shenendehowa School District, Clifton Park, NY
2022 Instructor, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
2020-2022 Instructor of Record, University at Albany, Albany, NY (Three-Dimensional Design)
Awards/Recognition
2023 NYSCA Statewide Community Regrants Community Grant for The Box Party Project. Sponsored by Collar Works Gallery, Troy, NY. Distributed by The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY
2022 MFA Departmental Commendation Award
2019 Steve Street Award for an artistic project that embodies a commitment to social justice issues, from United University Professionals
Roanne Kulakoff Award from University at Albany
Honorable Mention, LARAC, juried exhibition, Glens falls, NY
Dean’s List
2018 Dean’s Letter of Commendation
Bibliography
Justin Baker, ”Art Town with The Box Party”, podcast. October 25, 2023. https://player.fm/series/3466063/377217669
William Jaeger, “Opalka Gallery’s ‘In-Faux-Structure’,” Times Union, Albany. NY.
August 29, 2019. https://www.timesunion.com/preview/article/Opalka-Gallery-s-In-Faux-Structure-14400198.php
Indiana Nash, “On Exhibit: Two new galleries rise up on Troy’s Second Street.” The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY. November 4, 2020. https://dailygazette.com/2020/11/04/on-exhibit-two-new-galleries-rise-up-on-troys-second-street/
http://www.archjournal.net “Winter ‘19,” December 20, 2019
Indiana Nash, “On Exhibit: ‘In-Faux-structure’ at Opalka,” The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, NY,
August 22, 2019. https://dailygazette.com/2019/08/22/on-exhibit-in-faux-structure-at-opalka/
https://video.wmht.org/video/-faux-structure-oesxwm/ “AHA! A House for Arts,” WMHT,
August 14, 2019
Office of Communications and Marketing, “From Classroom to Award Stand,” Today at UAlbany, Albany, NY, March 5, 2019
