Pamela Caughey Biography

Pamela Caughey is an artist living in Hamilton, Montana with her husband and two sons. She graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. During her four years of college, she took courses in oil painting, ceramics, and art history. She lived in London, England in 1983-1984, where she studied photography, drawing, and ceramics. After moving to Montana in 1986, she began her serious study of watercolor and took several watercolor workshops from signature members of the American Watercolor Society, including Barbara Nechis, Judi Betts, Carlton Plummer, Christopher Schink, and Joseph Bohler. She served as President of the Montana Watercolor Society in 1996, Vice-President in 1994-1995, and Watermedia Chairperson in 1994. Since her move to Montana, her work has been included in numerous juried, solo, and group exhibitions. She recently earned her MFA in painting and drawing from the University of Montana School of Art. She is a multi-media artist working in painting (acrylic and encaustic), drawing, printmaking, sculpture and installation.

EXHIBITIONS

2012

The Emerson Center of Art and Cultlure, Bozeman, MT; Disquietude, March-April, 2012.

2011

The Brink, Missoula, MT, Mapping the Emotions (tentative title), collaborative exhibition, Pamela Caughey and Karen McAlister Shimoda, September, 2010.

The Charsam Gallery, Big Sky, MT, Group Exhibition, February 2011.

Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT, 39th Annual Benefit Auction, January 7th-February 7th, 2011

2010

Gallery of Visual Arts, University of Montana, Disquietude, December 2 – 16, 2010.

Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT, Montana Landscape, July 1 – October 17, 2010.

The Catalyst, Missoula, MT, Journeys in Microspace, two-person exhibition, April 2010.

Ravalli County Museum, Hamilton, MT, February 1 – April 1, 2010. 2009

University Center Art Gallery, University of Montana, Half-Life, Solo Exhibition, November 2 – 24, 2009.

University Center Art Gallery, University of Montana, Grad Montana, August 31 – September 25, 2009, Stockpile, collograph, pastel, thread, 30”x22”.

The Harwood Art Center Albuquerque, NM, Crossing 2009, Group Exhibition, June 5 – July 31, 2009, Sarin, encaustic and digital print on panel, 7”x7”.

Northcutt Steele Gallery, Billings, MT, Language of Dislocation, Group Exhibition, February 20 – March 20, 2009, Triangulation, 12”x12” encaustic, Night Lights, 12”x12” encaustic.

Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT, Annual Benefit Art Auction, January 2009, Cosmos, encaustic and graphite, 12”x12”.

2008

Gallery of Visual Arts, Department of Art, University of Montana, 14th Annual Juried Student Art Show, October 2008, Woman Dismantled, 40” x 30” acrylic collage; and Beyond, 12”x12”, digital encaustic, graphite. (Awarded third place overall.)

Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition, September 8 – November 2, 2008, Artist Deconstructed, 40x30 watermedia painting.

The Frame Shop, Hamilton, MT, Recombinant Art, June 2008, Solo Exhibition of new watermedia paintings, drawings, and encaustic.

AWARDS and COLLECTIONS

November 2009: University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture Permanent Collection: Earth and Sky, 10”x8”, encaustic, mixed media.

November 2009: University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture Permanent Collection: History, 10”x8”, encaustic, mixed media.

October 2008: Third Place Overall, Beyond, 12”x12”, The 14th Annual Juried Student Art Show, Beverly Glueckert, juror of selection.

October 2007: Nancy Beelman Merit Award for Riptide, 40”x30”, Mixed Media, Collage, Watermedia 2007, Nita Leland, juror of selection and awards.

October 2007: University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture Permanent Collection: Rock of Ages, 40 x 30, Watermedia/Collage, Skaggs Building percent-for-art.

September 2007: University of Montana, Montana Museum of Art and Culture purchase of Shattered Scape, 30 x 40, Watermedia/Collage, Skaggs Building percent-for-art.

SCHOLARSHIPS

April, 2010, Gilbert Millikan Art Scholarship November, 2009, Thomas Leslie Wickes and Heloise Vinal Wickes Scholarship in Fine Arts May, 2009, Nancy and Ron Erickson Scholarship May, 2009, Fell-Oskins Scholarship April, 2008, Fell-Oskins Scholarship

PUBLICATIONS and ARTICLES

The Entertainer, “Hamilton artist’s UM exhibit examines influence of terrorism, fear“, Missoulian, Friday, November 26, by Joe Nickell.

Ravalli Republic, “Fearfully beautiful: Hamilton artist’s show takes on fear and national security,” by Joe Nickell, November 26, 2010

Missoula Living Magazine, February/March 2007, “Pam Caughey: When the Paint Meets the Paper,” by Brian D’Ambrosio.

The Entertainment Connection, “Artist’s Journey Explores Inner Spirit,” Ravalli Republic, Friday, June 27, 2008, pg. 2, Georgia Kay, Arts and Entertainment Editor.

The Clark Fork Journal, “Pam Caughey: Local Flavor, Worldly Sophistication; Multifaceted artist’s spontaneous works develop from natural feelings without constraint,” July 2006, pg. 3, 12, Brian D’Ambrosio, Editor.

The Entertainment Connection, “Combinations Overlay, Parallel Nature’s Forms,” Ravalli Republic, Friday, June 23, 2006, pg. 2, 11.

Best of Watercolor, Painting Light and Shadow, 1997, North Light Books, p. 107; “Hanging Baskets,” 22 x 30 transparent watercolor selected for this volume.

TEACHING/LECTURES/ARTIST TALKS

January 2011, Missoula Art Museum, Missoula, MT, 39th Benefit Art auction, Artist Talk.

May, 2010, Ravalli County Museum, Hamilton, MT, Drawing Workshop.

April, 2010, Ravalli County Museum, Hamilton, MT, Drawing Workshop.

Spring 2010, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Montana, Missoula, MT; Art 101, Visual Language-Drawing.

Fall 2009, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Montana-Missoula, MT; Art 101, Visual Language-Drawing.

Fall 2009, Lecture, “Art in the Age of Terrorism”, Art 203, open to the public, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.

Spring 2009, Lecture, “Art in the Age of Terrorism”, Art 151, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.

Artist's Statement

This body of work is related to my recent MFA thesis show entitled, "Disquietude", which was exhibited at the University of Montana, Gallery of Visual Arts, in December of 2010. If you have interest in seeing this entire body of work, please visit www.pamelacaughey.com In a post 9/11 world, the global war on terrorism influences our thinking and casts a perpetual shadow that is inescapable. We live in a state of disquietude. Amidst unspeakable events and traumas, we experience censored media, invasion of privacy in the name of heightened "homeland security," eroded freedom of speech, and constant rhetoric serving the politics of fear. Art in the age of terrorism is an attempt to bring interpretation and meaning to these timely issues by portraying multiple perspectives, which address the philosophical, social, political and cultural interventions that the war against terrorism has created. It encourages dialogue between various world views and political sources. When images promote meaningful discussion and contemplation, we are given the opportunity to better understand situations that are beyond words. I was inspired to explore the ramifications of terrorism when thinking about personal encounters with terrorism related to places our family had lived or visited. Shortly before my husband attended a conference in Madrid, Spain, terrorists bombed the commuter train system, killing almost 200 people in 2004. When suicide bombers attacked the London Underground between the Kings Cross and Russell Square stations in 2005, the location was unnervingly close to home; my husband and I had lived for more than a year between these two stations, right above the explosions. And, with close relatives in Nagasaki, I have also been keenly aware of the destructive power of atomic weapons: bodies vaporized by the nuclear bomb left permanent afterimages of human shadows etched on building walls in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima. For the above reasons, I found myself drawn to the topic of terrorism, and began to ask myself questions. This body of work seeks to respond to and answer just some of them. Disquietude seeks to explore the wide range of psychological, social, and global ramifications of living in the age of terrorism. The unifying thread running through the work is the ambiguity in each piece, offering a safe haven for each viewer to consider and reflect upon the many repercussions of terrorism, before, during and after it has occurred. The imagery represents the dualities we must face in today’s climate; life vs. death, security vs. vulnerability, anxiety vs. peace, hope vs. despair. My interest in diverse forms of artistic expression has resulted in a wide range of visual stimuli. My aim is to present a multi-faceted approach to the many ways we interpret the status of our well-being at any given time, amidst a constant barrage of media referencing the last, current or impending attack from terrorists--at home or abroad. Pamela Caughey