julie farstad BeWilder
BeWilder julie farstad
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art
2004 Baltimore Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64108
Gallery Director: Sherry Leedy
Catalog Design: Celina Curry
Find us at: sherryleedy.com
IG: @sherryleedycontemporaryart
FB: @sherryleedycontemporaryart
Front cover: Emergence: Chamaecrista fasciculata, (Partridge pea)
This page: details from Emergence: Ruellia humilis (Wild petunia)
art presents: BeWilder farstad
BeWilder
My artwork explores my passion for native plants of the tallgrass prairie and acts of cultivation, in the context of ecological crisis. My mixed media studio paintings comprise playful, emergent, and responsive layers of printed and painted botanical forms, combining multiple material processes, to suggest the many simultaneous systems and relationships active in the natural world. It is my hope that my paintings, with their shifting language and saturated color, can create dynamic worlds where wildflowers come in and out of focus. In these works, vitality and entanglement are prioritized over traditional compositional resolution, in an attempt to bewilder the viewer and decenter the human perspective of the natural world.
I often spend my nights awake, anxiously thinking over the current and coming ecological challenges, reading and listening for new paths forward. My days follow a joyful curiosity about these wonderful indigenous flowers. My artwork dwells in this paradoxical intensity as both a requiem for the lost prairie and an incantation for hope.
I also create public-facing artwork in the Flowers for Marlborough Project. This project confronts and attempts to impact urban blight in the Marlborough neighborhood of Kansas City, MO by interjecting large-scale paintings of native plants on neglected and abandoned properties. In addition, I have conducted free workshops and host native plant seedling give aways to the community.
-Julie Farstad
Julie Farstad was born and raised in Elmira, New York. She earned her BFA in Painting at the University of Notre Dame and her MFA in Painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Farstad is a Professor of Painting and Social Practice at the Kansas City Art Institute. She lives and works in the Marlborough neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri with her husband and two sons.
Bewildering: Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox) 2024
Acrylic and oil on Tyvek on panel
48” x 72”
Emergence: Amsonia illustris (Ozark bluestar) 2024
Phototex, acrylic and oil on Tyvek on panel 24” x 24”
Bewildering: Gerania maculatum and Asclepius tuberosa (Wild geranium and butterfly milkweed)
2024
Phototex, acrylic and oil on panel 20” x 20”
Emergence: Chamaecrista fasciculata, (Partridge pea) 2024
Monotype, acrylic, and oil on paper on panel 8” x 8”
Emergence: Ruellia
Monotype, acrylic,
2024
and oil on paper on panel 8” x 8”
Emergence: Achillea millefolium (Yarrow) 2024
Monotype, acrylic, and oil on paper on panel 8” x 8”
Bewildering: Phytolacca American (Pokeweed) 2024
Acrylic and oil on Tyvek on panel 44” x 60”
Bewildering: Geum triflorum (Prairie smoke) 2024
Acrylic and oil on Tyvek on panel 12” x 12”
Emergence: Chamaecrista fasciculata, (Partridge pea) 2024
Monotype, acrylic, and oil on paper on panel 8” x 8”
Bewildering: Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) 2024
Bewildering Cardimine concatenata (Cutleaf toothwort) 2024
Acylic and oil on panel 24” x 24”
Emergence: Forest Path 2024 Acylic and oil on panel 30” x 30”
Emergence: Gentiana puberulenta (downy gentian) 2024
Phototex, acrylic, and oil on Tyvek on panel 24” x 36v”
Emergence: Heliopsis helianthoides and Ratibida pinnata (Oxeye sunflower and grayhead coneflower) 2023
Acrylic and oil on panel
16” x 20”
Emergence: Monptype, acrylic,
Emergence: Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) 2023
Monotype, acrylic, and oil on paper on panel 10” x 10”
Emergence: Helenium flexuosum (Purple sneezeweed)
2024 acrylic, and oil on paper on panel 11” x 14”
Bewildering: Asclepius syriaca (Common milkweed)
2024
Acrylic and oil on canvas
45” x 56”
Julie Farstad
Education
2000 MFA in Painting, Summa Cum Laude, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Champaign, IL
1997 BFA in Painting, Summa Cum Laude, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
1995 Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing, Aix-en-Provence, France
Awards & Ho nors
2023 Missouri Prairie Foundation 2023 William A. Davit Prairie Communicator of the Year
2022 Missouri Prairie Foundation Grant
2020-21
Rosser Faculty Biennial Fellowship Award
Sabbatical, Spring Semester, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2018 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2017 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2016 Full Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2014 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2013 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2011 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2010 Review Studio Artist Residency
2010 Body of Work: New Perspectives in Figure Painting 2010, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
2008 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2007 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2006 Faculty Grant, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2004-05 Incomplete List of Excellent Teachers, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Champaign, IL
2003 Artist Fellowship Award, Illinois Arts Council
2000 Outstanding Teacher Award, Department of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
1999-2000 Incomplete List of Excellent Teachers, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Champaign, IL
1997 Emil Jaques Gold Award, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
1996 Mabel Mountain Painting Award, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Collaborations
2024 Partnering with Native Lands LLC for public art events and signeage at the Heartland Overlook Preserve, Kansas City, MO
Charlotte Street Foundation Annual Block Party: native plant give away and native prairie plantings
2023-24
Charlotte Street Foundation Annual Block Party: native plant give away and native prairie plantings
2022 Partnering with Missouri Prairie Foundation to produce four murals on 77th St. Partnering with Kansas City Land Trust to do three plant and painting workshops and native plant give aways
Solo Exhibitions
2024 BeWilder , Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
2022 Flowers For Marlborough , 77th Street Underpass, Kansas City, MO
2021 Flowers For Marlborough , Marlborough Elementary School, Kansas City, MO
Flowers For Marlborough , 1157 E 77th Ter, Mar 14- May 1, Kansas City, MO
2015 Orange Skies, Pink Morning, Zg Gallery, Chicago IL
2014 Under the Orange Sky, Plug Projects, KC MO
2012 Ecstasy and Dreams, Studios Inc, Kansas City, MO
2008 Paintings, South Bend Regional Museum, South Bend, IN
2007 Prairiesummerheartbreak, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005 Eat My Heart Out, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY
2003 more more more!, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 SUPERFLIRT, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Northeastern Illinois University Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
Group Exhibitions
2023 Finding Ground, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
Pollinating Visions, Troost Gardens, Kansas City, MO
2022 20 “ x 20”, Zg Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Chicago, IL
2021 Terrain Biennial, Marlborough School, Kansas City, MO
Secret Life of Plants, curated by Misha Kligman, Fine Art and Design School, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS
2021 Kansas City Flatfile & Digitalfile, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
Who We Were, Who We Are, Who We Will Be, Charlotte Street Foundation Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Flowers For Marlborough , 1339 E 70Th St, June 2- ongoing, Kansas City MO
2019 Lineage and Impact: KCAI Faculty Past and Present, Haw Contemporary Stockyards, Kansas City, MO
2018 Summer 2018, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
2018 Kansas City Flatfile & Digitalfile, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
2015 Zg Winter 2015, Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL
In Pursuit, H & R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
2013 Inner Sight/Insight: Driven to Dare, Governor’s State University, University Park, IL
2011 Editions Artists Books Fair, 2011, New York, NY, represented by White Wings Press of Chicago IL
Hardcore Painting, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Omaha, NE
Emblazoned Cyphers , University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
Between Thee and Me, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University, Kansas City MO
Hardcore Painting, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO
2010
Body of Work: New Perspectives on Figure Painting, National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
Popular Culture Re-Constructed, Memorial Hall Gallery Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island
“Tethered to My World, Contemporary Figure Painting: Location, Chicago”, The Highland Park Art Center, Chicago, IL Highly Personal, Isis Gallery, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
2008 New, Three: Kansas City Art Institute Faculty, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
Intersections, Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2007 Paper Now, Ispace Gallery, Chicago, IL
It’s Only Natural, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO
2006 Featured Artist, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, -scope Miami 2006, Miami, FL
Collect All Four, Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Oh, You Beautiful Doll , Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York, NY
2005 Sinister, Tarble Museum of Fine Art, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
25th Anniversary Bookplate Show, Printworks Gallery, Chicago, IL
Five Presses, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, Arvada, CO
2004 Summer Love, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Artist as Collector, Northern Indiana Arts Association, Munster, IN
Annual Remarkable Women Show, Peltz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Holiday , Big Cat Gallery, New York, NY
-scope New York 2004, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York, NY
A Sharp Eye: An Art Dealer’s 40 Year Journey, Evanston Art Center, IL
2003 Emergence: Women Artists in the New Millennium, Northern Indiana Arts Association, Munster, IN
Cold Comfort, Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
Luscious Too, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Welcome to My Dollhouse , Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
Luscious , Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
Just Install It, collaboration, Arena Gallery, Chicago, IL
2000 Out of Afar(m) and Whoa! La Giaconda, set design and live video installation for Whoa! La Giaconda , Merce Cunningham Studios, New York, NY.
Reviews and Interviews
Aug 12, 2022
May 12, 2021
May 5, 2021
June 3, 2014
May 27, 2014
Under Kansas City Bridges, Julie Farstad is Painting a Blighted Neighborhood Full of Butterflies, Julie Denesha
KSHB News, Artist Uses Native Flower Paintings to Highlight KC
Neighborhood Issues
KMBC News, Kansas City Artist Works to Beautify Her Neighborhood
Melaney Ann Mitchell, Informality Blog
Liz Cook, The Pitch , Julie Farstad dolls up PLUG projects’ new solo space
May, 2014 Kayti Doolittle, Ink, Julie Farstad Conjures the Mythical and Mystical at Plug Projects
March 26, 2011 Tara Kloeppell, ereview.org, Feminine Fancies
March 3, 2011 Dana Self, The Kansas City Star, Traditional Meets Modern, Fine Arts Section, p. 18
August 3, 2010 Janell Meador, Presentmagazine.com, Presenting: Julie Farstad and Peter Warren
June 15, 2007 Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune
October 24, 2003 Alan Artner, Chicago Tribune, section 7C, p. 29
November 7, 2003 Margaret Hawkins, Chicago Sun-Times, Weekend Plus section p. 24
November 14, 2003 Fred Camper, Chicago Reader, Section 1, p. 39
September 2003 Word for Word , interview with Maria Tomasula, mouthtomouth magazine
Teaching Experience
2016-present Full Professor, Kansas City, Art Institute
2021-24 Summer Teaching Institute, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2013, 2015 Summer Teaching Institute, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2012-2016 Associate Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2005-2012 Assistant Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2004-2005 Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
2002-2004 Adjunct Faculty, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
2001 Visiting Artist, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
2000 Adjunct Faculty, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN
1997-2000 Graduate Instructor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Visiting Artist Lectures
2024 Powell Gardens, Kingsville, MO
Collecting Seeds and Winter Sowing, Missouri Prairie Foundation Webinar
2023 Missouri Prairie Foundation Webinar
Plan It Native Conference , Kansas City, MO
2022 Metropolitan Community College, Blue River, Independence, MO
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Statistical Services Department
2019 Museum of Motherhood Annual Conference, New York
2018 Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, IL
2016 University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
2014 Artist Talk, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, KS
2010 Artist talk, Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2009 Off the Couch and Into the Studio, Artist Talk for Greater Kansas City and Topeka Psychoanalytic Institute, Kansas City, MO
2006 Slide Talk series, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
Panel D iscussions
2021 Contemporary Art and the Prairie, coordinated and participated in this panel discussion moderated by Carol Davit, Executive Director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation and co-sponsored by the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Kansas City Art Institute Who We Were, Who We Are, Who We Will Be, Charlotte Street Foundation Gallery, Kansas City, MO, July 6, 2021
2015 In Pursuit , Discussing Sabbatical Research, H & R Block Artspace, Kansas City MO
2007-2012 Greater Kansas City and Topeka Psychoanalytic Institute Film Series
2007 HELP WANTED : Confronting the Realities of 21st Century Art Practice, Art Chicago 2007, moderated by Sarah Krepp Chicago, IL
2006 The State of Contemporary Art, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
2004 Art, Sex and Religion , -scope New York 2004, New York, NY
2004 Beyond the Gallery, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
2003 Bridging the Gap between the Art World and the Public, sponsored by the llinois Art Educators Association, Klein Art Works, Chicago, IL
2002 Pillow Talk : Sexuality in Contemporary Art, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
Publications
2024 The Legacy of Vitality in the Paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe, for The Brightness of Light, composed by Kevin Puts, conducted by Robert Moody, Lyric Opera Kansas City
2023 “Intentional Entanglement: Native Plants Neighborhoods and Art”, Missouri Prairie Journal, Volume 44 Nos 3 and 4, pp 20-23
2016 Radar Online Poetry Magazine, Issues 9, January, 2016, and Issue 10, April, 2016
2015 Radar Online Poetry Magazine, Issue 7, July 2015
2014 Radar Online Poetry Magazine, Issue 4, July 2014
Radar Online Poetry Magazine, Issue 3, July 2014
2006 Oh, You Beautiful Doll , catalog, curated by Douglas F. Maxwell
2002–2004 Co-Publisher, Co-Editor, mouthtomouth magazine
2002 New American Paintings, Number 41, juror Bill Arnung, curator, MIT List Visual Arts Center
Jan/Feb 2016 Art LTd Magazine, Robin Duran, p 31
April 2015 MW Capacity Blog, Q & A with Julie Farstad
January 2011 Nick Malewski, The Kansas City Star, A good ‘FIT’ at Review Studio
Sept 2010
July 2010
Janell Meador, ereview.org, Julie Farstad: Post-philosophy, A profile of a painter with many talents to choose from Robin Dluzen, Chicagoartmagazine.com, Phyllis Bramson’s Painters at The Art Center in Highland Park
Renee Phillips, Manhattan Arts International, “Women to Watch”: An Exhibition of Underrepresented Artists