Beverly Floyd

Beverly Floyd exhibits and lectures in museums, universities and galleries throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Honors and awards include a  two year scholarship to the Yale University School of Art  where she earned her M.F.A. in 1992. 

Ms. Floyd’s work has been placed in several corporate and private collections including McKinsey & Company and Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation. She has had many publications including the front cover of Asahi Art Pictorial, published in Tokyo, New American Paintings  , (volumes 14 and 26)  and  a   color catalog  for her 1995 NYC  painting exhibition. 

Born in  Houston, Texas in 1949, she now lives and works in East Haddam, Connecticut.  She is married and has three sons.

Artist Statement

Gardens & Ecosystems 

I refer to my work as journals, organizing tools for recording recent and current events.   Although the combinations play out in my own mental maps, capturing my journeys and experiences, the viewer is invited to reconstruct the encounters. 

My consistent obsession with nature has directed me and for the past several years birds have played an important role. Recently however, my interest has become broader and more encompassing.  Having recently completed a Master Gardener program, I am more aware of the ecosystems that make up the natural world.  Water, air, minerals, plants and animals all have unique and important roles in determining the quality of our shared landscape. 

In my current work, intermingling of organic and geometric imagery refers to the parts that make up or interrupt an ecosystem. Small rectangular boxes made of wood, tea bags and beeswax function like cells, parts that hold an ecosystem together. 

The materials and processes used in the work convey the creative processes as well as the fragility of an ecosystem. Layering, scraping and etching of materials are reminiscent of the processes by which a system is formed. More literally, wood, beeswax, and tea are natural products of an ecosystem; the rice-paper teabag reminds us of how fragile it all is.

My processes are experimental and therefore consist of several different materials and techniques.   Besides traditional drawing and painting materials, natural and recycled materials are used as well.   Some of these products are dried tea bags, coffee grounds, beeswax, candle wax, leaves, paper and wood.  Pigments and grounds are  often made with stains using wet coffee grounds, peat moss or tea.  Material combinations include, but are not limited to, acrylic mediums and paint, oil paint, inks and dried pigments, paper and organic collage materials, beeswax and candle wax and a variety of  papers, handmade, organic and /or translucent. 

Processes include printmaking, collage work, painting, drawing, wax application, scraping, rubbing, stamping and etching. My printmaking process is similar to making woodcuts, but instead of cutting directly into wood, the wood block is covered with linoleum.  Some of my drawings and prints are scanned, digitally printed, then used as collage material. 

Often several individual works are put together to make up a single piece.  For instance,  I might make a  print, drawing or watercolor on a single tea bag or a piece of print making paper.  This piece might then be combined with a digital print of one of my  drawings or photographs.   Added to that could be a collage work made with leaves.  The pieces are often put together on a wood panel with layers of acrylic gel medium and clear beeswax, then scraped, etched and rubbed with oil paint.  Another work may be made of several identically sized rectangular boxes made of wood and tea bags.  Each individual box is a unique small art work, but  once grouped, they transform into totally different works. 

 ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS

2004        Koelsch Gallery,  Houston, Texas

2003       Strand Theatre  Galveston, Texas

2002       Koelsch Gallery  Houston, Texas

  2000     Chester Gallery  Chester, Connecticut

 2000      Bender Fine Art  Atlanta, Georgia

 1998      A.I.R.  Gallery II  New York, New York

 1996     Nacul Gallery   Amherst, Massachusetts

 1996                    University of Massachusetts , Amherst, Massachusetts

 1995      Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, New York       

 1995      The Allen Collection, Vail, Colorado

 1994      Upton Gallery  Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York

 1994      Geissler Gallery  Stoneleigh- Burnham School, Greenfield,  Massachusetts   

 1994      Nacul Gallery  Amherst, Massachusetts

 1993                Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company 1993 Artists Series ,Springfield, Massachusett

 1992      Guild Studio School Northampton, Massachusetts     

 1990                Montague Book Mill Gallery  Montague, Massachusetts     

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 

2004       Dreams and Realities- Four Artists

                Alva Gallery  New London, Connecticut

2002       Paper Invitational V

                                Woodward Gallery, New York, New York

                Summer Show 2002, New to Sarasota

                                Allyn Gallup Contemporary, Sarasota, FL

2001       Beyond Our Vision

                                Bemidji Community Art Center, Bemidji, Minnesota

                Paper Invitational IV

                                Woodward Gallery, New York, New York

                Swing Bridge Group Exhibition

                                Village Gallery, East Haddam, Connecticut         

2000-2003   Way Cool, Gallery Artists

                                Koelsch Gallery, Houston, Texas

                Generations II: A Survey of Women Artists At The Millennium

                                A.I.R. Gallery, New York, New York                    

1999       Way Cool, Gallery Artists

                                Koelsch Gallery, Houston, Texas

                Shared Sensibilities

                                Bender Fine Art, Atlanta Georgia

BEVERLY FLOYD,CONT.     

Small Works

                                Koelsch Gallery, Houston, Texas 

1998       Wall to Wall

                                Gallery 402, New York, New York

                Animal Magic    

New York Law School, New York, New York

                Art Discoveries

                                Jonathan Shorr Gallery, New York, New York

                The Living Portfolio

                                Studio on the Bowery, OAE, New York, New York

1996                Abstract Artists and Friends of the Atelier”

                                Triangular Gallery at Atelier 14, New York, New York

1996       JCB International Credit Card Co., Rockefeller Plaza

                                New York, New York

                Joining Forces: Flowers and Art”

                                Hampden Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

1995       Bay State: Artists of the Pioneer Valley

                                Krasdale Gallery, NewYork, New York

1994       New Talent

                                Alpha Gallery,  Boston, Massachusetts

              Intimate Views

                                Maris Gallery, Westfield State College, Westfield,Massachusetts

                The Painted Object

                                McKillop Gallery, Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island

1993       On the Verge: New & Emerging Artists in New England

                                Gallery Equus, Boston, Massachusetts

                 New  American Talent

                                Abilene Fine Arts Museum, Abilene, Texas

                New American Talent

                                O’Kane Gallery, University of Houston, Texas

1992       Yale University Art & Architecture Gallery  

                                New Haven, Connecticut

                Art for AIDS Sake

                                Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park, Worcester, Massachusetts

                Commencement Exhibition

                                Yale University Art & Architecture Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

                Small Works

                                 North Amherst Center for the Arts, Amherst, Massachusetts

                New American Talent: The Eighth Exhibition

                                 Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, Texas

                Graduate Students of New England

                                Kingston Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts

1991       An Education of the Heart

                                 Boston Visual Artists Union Gallery, Boston , Massachusetts

                Prints by Yale Graduates

                                 Yale Summer Program Gallery, Norfolk, Connecticut

                Yale Graduate Students Exhibition

                                Yale University Art & Architecture Gallery , New Haven, Connecticut

1990                Pastel/Small Works Exhibition

                                Windham Gallery, Brattleboro, Vermont

                                Yale Graduate Students Exhibition

                                Yale University Art & Architecture Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut         

1989                University of Massachusetts  Student Union Gallery

                 University of Massachusetts at Amherst

                                The Empowerment of Women

                                 Borgia Gallery, Elms College, Chicopee, Massachusetts

1988                 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition

                                Student Union Gallery, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

                                VWA Exhibition

                                 Hampshire College Art Gallery, Amherst, MA 

BEVERLY FLOYD,CONT.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Agni  Literary Journal, 37,”Standing on the Verge”,(introduction),curated by Gerr  Bergstein, Mark Booth and Hanna Melnyczuk,Boston University, Boston, MA.  Spring 1993.  pp. 123-139, (article,reproduction) 

Asahi Art Pictorial, Volume 5, “The International Art Scene”,Tokyo, Japan, November 15, 1995 (Front Cover reproduction, article, reproductions)

Bay State: Artists of the Pioneer Valley  , exhibition catalog, curated by Sigmund R. Balka, Frasdale Foods Inc, New York, New York, July 17 - October 24, 1995 (biography, reproduction) 

 Benvenuto, Christine, “Exploring the Collision of Nature and Culture”, Amherst Bulletin, Amherst, MA, January 7, 1994, (feature article, reproductions  with artist)

Berndt, Jeff, “Art imitates, Incorporates Life”, Vail Daily, Vail, Colorado, January 6, 1995,( feature article, reproductions with artist)            

Calvert, Betsy, “Art Market Winds up Bash”, Springfield Union News, March 29, 1993,  (article)

Grynsztejn, Madeleine, New American Talent: The Eighth Exhibition,(Introduction), Texas Fine Arts Association, 1992, (reproduction)

Guild Studio School Catalog, September/ October 1993, Northampton, MA, “Faculty Profile: Beverly Floyd” (feature article, reproduction)

Hewitt, Scott, “New Talent Shines in Leverett”, Daily Hampshire Gazette,Northampton, MA, November 12, 1994 (feature article ,photo of artist)

Kiesewetter, Trish, “Expressing Nature in the Abstract”, Daily Options, The Vail Trail, Vail Colorado, January 13-19, 1995, (feature article, reproductions, cover photograph of artist with reproductions)

Libero, Jessica, “Merging Reality & Fantasy at Alva Gallery”,  Valley Courier ,  Essex, CT, February 26, 2004, (review)

New American Paintings ,Volume 14, Open Studio Press, Wellesley, MA, January 1998, reproductions

New American Paintings , Volume 26, Open Studio Press, Wellesley, MA, March 2000,  reproductions

O’Brien, Chip “Floyd Fuses Nature & Technology in Upton Hall Exhibit”, Buffalo State College Record, Buffalo,NY,  September 16, 1994  (review, reproduction)

Paradysz, Amy H., “SU Art Gallery Faces Possibility of Damaging Cutbacks”, Daily Collegian, Amherst, MA, March 28, 1996 (front page, reproduction)

Rulh, Steven, “VWA Exhibit at Hampshire College”, Amherst Bulletin, Amherst, MA, March 15, 1989, (review, reproduction)

Russell,Gloria  “Nature Challenges Culture in Two Gallery Exhibits”, Sunday Republican, Springfield, MA,  January 23, 1994, (review)

 Russell,Gloria “WSC Exhibit Gives Audience Intimate Look at Art”, Sunday Republican, Springfield, MA, April 10, 1994 (review)

Russell, Gloria, “Experienced & New Artists Featured at 2 Exhibits”, Sunday Republican,  Springfield, MA, February 19, 1995 (review)

Russell, Gloria, “Spiritual Impulses Come Alive in Two New Exhibits”, Sunday Republican, Springfield, MA,March 17, 1996, (review)

Russell, Gloria “Artist Takes More Realistic Approach”, Sunday Republican, Springfield, MA, December 15, 1996 (review, color reproduction, front page Liesure Section)

Scott, Sue, “Beverly Floyd, New Work”, Walter Wickiser Gallery, Inc. Exhibition Catalog, New York , NY,  June, 1995, (essay, one person exhibition catalog, color reproductions)

Stapen, Nancy, “Tastes of Mingled Palettes”, The Boston Globe,  Boston, MA,  June 23, 1994  (review)

Straub, Roger, “Contemporary Art Featured at Chester Gallery” , Hometown Journal, E.Haddam, CT, June 30, 2000, (review, reproduction)

Vail Valley Magazine, Vail, Colorado,  winter 1995-96, “Galleries” (article, reproduction)

Weekend Gazette, “COA Sponsors Art Exhibition”, Holyoke, MA, August 1-2, 1992, (review)

Wells, Bonnie, “Picture Postcards from Santa Fe: Beverly Floyd’s Abstract Landscapes Celebrate Travel”,

Amherst Bulletin, Amherst, MA, March 22, 1996, (feature article, reproductions w/ artist)

Wright, Patricia, “Art Views”,  Daily Hampshire Gazette,  Northampton, MA, March 26, 1992, (review)

BEVERLY FLOYD,CONT.  

HONORS  AND AWARDS 

2004       No Boundaries International Art Colony

                            Bald Head Island, North Carolina

1996       The Millay Colony Residency

                                                Steepletop, Austerlitz, New York

1993       Paul and Carol Chanin Sculpture Scholarship

                                                Anderson Ranch, Snowmass, Colorado

1990-92     Tuition Scholarship

                                                Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut

1990       First Place Award

                                                Windham Art Gallery, Brattleboro, Vermont, Juror: Wolf Kahn

1988       First Place Award

                                                Student Union Gallery, University of Massachusetts at Amherst                           

1988           Scholarship Award

                                                Foundations Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

EDUCATION

M.F.A.     Yale University School of Art, New Haven,Connecticut  Painting and Printmaking, 1992

B.F.A.     University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts    Painting, 1989   

TEACHING  &  LECTURES

2001       Instructor, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

1998        Visiting Artist, Rhode island School of Design, Providence, RI

1997        Lecture,  Radcliff School, Milton Keynes,  Buckinghampshire, England

1996       Lecture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA        

1995       Lecture, Visiting Artist, College of St. Rose, Albany, NY

1994       Lecture,  Stoneleigh Burnham School, Greenfield, MA

1994       Lecture,  Charles Burchfield Museum, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY

1992-1995 Instructor, Guild Studio School, Northampton, Massachusetts

1991-1992  Instructor, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

1994-1996       Gallery Director, Barnes Gallery, Leverett, MA

AFFILIATED GALLERIES

Alva Gallery, New London, CT

Koelsch Gallery,  Houston, Texas

Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art, Sarasota, Florida

Woodward Gallery, New York, NY