Jeff Woodbury
Jeff Woodbury grew up in a military family and has lived across the U.S. and abroad. He earned a B.F.A. in Intermedia from Arizona State University and an M.F.A. in painting from Pratt Institute. He has exhibited photographs, drawings, altered maps, prints, paintings, sculptures, film, video, and audio works. In 2018 he traveled to Lithuania to paint a mural in the city of Mariampole with a group of artists from New York, London, and Lithuania.
Woodbury’s work is in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery, Osher Map Library, Portland Museum of Art, and the University of New England in Portland, Maine. His work appears in the books The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography by Katharine Harmon as well as From Here to There: A Curious Collection from the Hand Drawn Map Association by Kris Harzinski.
Artist Statement:
I work concurrently on a range of ideas in a variety of media. I grew up in a military family, as part of an invisible rootless tribe. The way I work reflects my nature and my nurture. My work and my life are paths crossing others, connecting and diverging, fashioning patterns of people and choices and ideas and feelings. It’s all in the mix.
It’s difficult to categorize my work as a whole. I usually work through ideas in series of related works, yet some stand alone. Sometimes ideas are set aside, only to be picked up years later.
I choose materials to express my thoughts, and the materials in turn suggest more ideas. My art lives not just in the final product, but in its making, and in its relation to other work.
I enjoy the freedom to explore where my ideas lead. I want to wander into the wilderness and come back to share the wonders I find. It’s not my intention to lead you to specific interpretations or conclusions. Words stand in the way of the direct experience of visual art. You’re part of the process now.
Relax and enjoy.
