Artist Statement

My paintings and works on paper explore the tensions between everyday consumption and environmental consequence in a world that is inextricably connected. My current series of paintings, “As Seen From the Other Side,” began by reflecting images of energy infrastructures in a curved, circular mirror. Power lines, solar orbs, oil derricks, and crude oil are transformed into abstractions that suggest celestial mechanics, electromagnetic fields, or planetary orbits. In the mirror’s reflection, tangible or familiar systems are seen through a wider lens. The ‘grid’ becomes fluid. Distortion reveals instability in these structures, signaling either the brink of collapse or the potential for transformation. Through an iterative and improvisational painting process, I disperse, pour, dissolve, and trace, exploring physical qualities that are both concrete and mercurial, structural and atmospheric. I think of the process of painting like scientific imaging – a response to visual data that evokes an embodied experience as much as an intellectual one.

My father, a materials scientist, developed an early solar device (1976-1980) that used parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight, making affordable energy available to individual homes as part of a national effort to develop renewable energy. As his project launched, he died unexpectedly in his forties. In the decades since, processing this loss has coincided with relentless fossil fuel consumption and the rapid acceleration of climate change and environmental precarity. My artistic practice is an ongoing ‘conversation’ with my father and an exploration of what I carry forward from this personal and collective history. My father’s solar mirror transforms the substance of light, acting as both receiver and transmitter. My works acknowledge the sun as Earth’s primary energy source, inviting consideration of what enlightenment can mean in the age of climate change.

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Declaração da Artista

As minhas pinturas e trabalhos sobre papel exploram as tensões entre o consumo quotidiano e as consequências ambientais num mundo intrinsecamente interligado. A minha série atual de pinturas, “As Seen From the Other Side” (“Visto do Outro Lado”), começou a partir da reflexão de imagens de infraestruturas energéticas num espelho curvo e circular. Linhas elétricas, orbes solares, plataformas petrolíferas e petróleo bruto transformam-se em abstrações que evocam mecânicas celestes, campos eletromagnéticos ou órbitas planetárias. No reflexo do espelho, sistemas tangíveis ou familiares são observados através de uma lente mais ampla. A “rede” torna-se fluida. A distorção revela a instabilidade destas estruturas, sinalizando tanto o limiar do colapso como o potencial de transformação. Através de um processo de pintura iterativo e improvisado, disperso, verto, dissolvo e traço, explorando qualidades físicas que são simultaneamente concretas e voláteis, estruturais e atmosféricas. Penso no ato de pintar como uma forma de imagiologia científica — uma resposta a dados visuais que desperta uma experiência tanto sensorial como intelectual.

O meu pai, cientista de materiais, desenvolveu um dispositivo solar pioneiro (1976–1980) que utilizava espelhos parabólicos para concentrar a luz solar, tornando a energia acessível e económica para uso doméstico, num esforço nacional de promoção das energias renováveis. No início do projeto, faleceu inesperadamente, com pouco mais de quarenta anos. Nas décadas que se seguiram, o processo de lidar com essa perda coincidiu com o consumo incessante de combustíveis fósseis e a rápida aceleração das alterações climáticas e da precariedade ambiental. A minha prática artística é uma conversa contínua com o meu pai e uma exploração do que trago comigo desta história pessoal e coletiva. O espelho solar do meu pai transforma a substância da luz, atuando simultaneamente como recetor e transmissor. As minhas obras reconhecem o sol como a principal fonte de energia da Terra e convidam à reflexão sobre o que o esclarecimento pode significar na era das alterações climáticas.

Biography

(b. 1962, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)

Shana Kaplow has exhibited her work nationally and internationally at venues such as The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Tianjin Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, The Asheville Museum of Art, Dreamsong Gallery, The Soap Factory, Rosalux Gallery, 55 Mercer Gallery, Franklin Art Works, and Weinstein Gallery. She was awarded The Joan Mitchell Foundation Artists Grant for Painters and Sculptors, the McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship, The Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship, and several Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants. She has been an artist-in-residence at Yaddo, the Joan Mitchell Center, Vashon Island Artist Residency, Red Gate International Artist Residency (Beijing), Vermont Studio Center, and the Grand Marais Artist Residency. Kaplow’s work was featured on Twin Cities Public Television’s MN Original. She holds an MFA from The Maryland Institute, College of Art, a BA from Connecticut College, and is a Professor Emeritus of 2D Media and Interdisciplinary Art at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN. She founded an art and science consortium in St. Paul, MN, bringing together local activists, artists, policymakers, researchers, and scientists to facilitate cross-disciplinary dialogue on environmental issues and research. Shana is currently the Associate Director of Artists Development at Public Functionary in Minneapolis, where she co-facilitates Conversation Lab, a series of workshops for emerging artists in the PF Studios program. She lives and works in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. She is excited to be exhibiting a new body of works on paper entitled, As Seen From the Other Side at Atelier Ghostbirds Gallery in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, in 2026. Shana’s work can be seen online at www.shanakaplow.com.

Biografia

(n. 1962, Cambridge, Massachusetts, EUA)

Shana Kaplow expôs o seu trabalho a nível nacional e internacional em instituições como o Minneapolis Institute of Art, Tianjin Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, Asheville Museum of Art, Dreamsong Gallery, The Soap Factory, Rosalux Gallery, 55 Mercer Gallery, Franklin Art Works e Weinstein Gallery. Foi distinguida com a Joan Mitchell Foundation Artists Grant for Painters and Sculptors, a McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship, a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship e várias Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants. Participou em residências artísticas na Yaddo, Joan Mitchell Center, Vashon Island Artist Residency, Red Gate International Artist Residency (Pequim), Vermont Studio Center e Grand Marais Artist Residency. O seu trabalho foi apresentado no programa MN Original da Twin Cities Public Television.

Kaplow tem um Mestrado em Belas-Artes pela Maryland Institute, College of Art e uma Licenciatura pelo Connecticut College. É Professora Emérita de Artes Interdisciplinares e Média Bidimensional na St. Cloud State University (St. Cloud, Minnesota). Fundou em St. Paul (MN) um consórcio de arte e ciência que reúne ativistas, artistas, decisores políticos, investigadores e cientistas, promovendo o diálogo interdisciplinar sobre questões e investigação ambientais.

Atualmente, é Diretora Associada de Desenvolvimento de Artistas na instituição Public Functionary, em Minneapolis, onde cofacilita o Conversation Lab, uma série de workshops destinados a artistas emergentes do programa PF Studios. Vive e trabalha em St. Paul, Minnesota, EUA. Está entusiasmada por apresentar uma nova série de trabalhos sobre papel intitulada As Seen From the Other Side na Atelier Ghostbirds Gallery, em Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, em 2026. O seu trabalho pode ser consultado em www.shanakaplow.com.