Artist Statement
I am interested in the human condition. Specifically, I question one’s ability to be vulnerable and empathetic with others. In my work I dissolve figure/ground relationships into compositions of gestural line and mark. These compositions have tensions between figuration and abstraction, and fluctuate between the ephemeral and the concrete.
I work from multiple sources – referencing photographs, direct observation, and other renderings. I combine and translate this information through painting and drawing. This process is part depiction, part improvisation, and part alteration, so the work hovers between clarity and obscurity. Through this process, I am able to reflect on the intersections of personal identity, sanctuary, and relationship.
About
TWIN CITIES ARTIST
Anna Leigh Biedenbender is a visual artist and classically trained soprano based in the Twin Cities. She holds an MFA in visual art, with an emphasis in painting and drawing, from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design (MCAD, ’16). She was one of 12 Minnesota artists invited to the Studio:HERE artist-residency program at the 2017 Minnesota State Fair, and her most recent solo exhibitions were at Modus Locus Gallery (Minneapolis) and the Owatonna Arts Center. She sings with the Twin Cities’ Magnum Chorum and in her studio as she paints.
Studio 244, Northrup King Building
1450 Van Buren St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
This artist lecture gives an overview of my practice up to the creation of my body of work “Prisca,” shown at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN in 2017.
I am also a singer! Watch a concert given by my brother, Phil Biedenbender, and me in the Villages, FL in early 2019.
A performance by Magnum Chorum - the choral group I sing with - at our fall 2019 concert at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
CV
EDUCATION
2016 Master of Fine Arts in visual studies | Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
2014 Bachelor of Arts in art, summa cum laude | Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, WI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021
Solo Exhibition | Church of the Cross, Hopkins, MN (upcoming—September)
2019
Group Exhibition | Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, MN
Juried Exhibition | Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Center, St. Paul, MN (North Hennepin Community College of Excellence Award, in memory of Lance Kiland—Oil Painting)
2018
Solo Exhibition | Owatonna Fine Arts Center, Owatonna, MN
Juried Exhibition | Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Center, St. Paul, MN (4th Place—Oil Painting)
Solo Exhibition | St. Mark's Cathedral Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Solo Exhibition | Modus Locus, Minneapolis, MN
Get Lucky 2018 | Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2017
Group Exhibition | Concordia Gallery, St. Paul, MN
Juried Exhibition | Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Center, St. Paul, MN (2nd Place—Oil Painting)
Solo Exhibition | Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center, Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato, MN
NEMAA Wintertide Juried Exhibition | Public Functionary, Minneapolis, MN (1st Place—Oil Painting)
Get Lucky 2017 | Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2016
Thesis Exhibition | MFA Gallery, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
Made at MCAD | Main Gallery, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
Suzy Greenberg Memorial Exhibition | Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
2015
Solo Exhibition | Library Gallery, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
Solo Exhibition | The Grand Arts and Cultural Center, New Ulm, MN
2014
Juried Exhibition | Franklin Arts Center Resident Artist Gallery, Brainerd, MN
Juried Exhibition | Plymouth Arts Center, Plymouth, WI
2013
Juried Exhibition | Arts Mill, Grafton, WI
Group Exhibition | Schlueter Art Gallery, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, WI
RESIDENCIES & PROGRAMMING
2017 Resident Artist | Studio:HERE, Minnesota State Fair, St. Paul, MN
2015 Intern | MN State Arts Board Grant Program, Walker Methodist Health Center, Minneapolis, MN
2016 Intern | Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN
Student Life Manager | Pre-College Student Seminar, MCAD, Minneapolis, MN
2015 Resident Artist | Whitefish Dunes State Park, Door County, WI
2014 Coordinator | Peer Mentor Program, MCAD, Minneapolis, MN
2014 Coordinator | Art for the Heart Scholarship Program, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, WI
2013 Intern | Milwaukee Artist Resource Network, Milwaukee, WI
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2021 Instructor | Middle School Art, St Croix Lutheran Academy, West St Paul, MN
2019 Presenter | Hearts & Hands Conference, St Croix Lutheran Academy, West St Paul, MN
Artist Talk | Christian Art Festival, Cross View, Edina, MN
Podcast Guest | Hearts & Hands, link
2018 Instructor | Continuing Education, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
2017 Board of Directors | LutheranArts, lutheranarts.org
2017 Presenter & Live Painter | WELS National Worship Conference, Carthage College, Racine, WI
Committee Member | LutheranArts, lutheranarts.org
Teaching Artist | MN State Arts Board Grant Program, Walker Methodist Health Center, Minneapolis, MN
2016 Artist Talk | Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN
2015 Artist Talk | The Grand Center for Arts and Culture, New Ulm, MN
Teaching Assistant | Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, MN
2013 Assistant Curator | MARNmentors Exhibition, Vangaard Sculpture Studios, Milwaukee, WI
MEMBERSHIPS
Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association
Christians in the Visual Arts
LutheranArts (disbanded 2019)
Mn Artists