Elliot Norquist Art
About
Elliot Norquist
Artist Statement
For years now there has been a sculpture on a wall in my home, a spontaneous arrangement of primary color and great intuitive planning. It’s origin was utilitarian: a gray CD case, 5”x 5”. The simplicity of form and color inspired my jr. high aged son to transform it with remnants of brightly colored duct tape.( I had multiple rolls of it lying around after I’d finished a project with the students in our rural northern New Mexico school district, where I was Artist in Residence at the time.) His work is a masterpiece. A haiku of sorts, made in the tear and stick frenzy of any artist in the “zone”, without self-conscious scrutiny. The piece has color, composition, power and identity. When I’m really “on”, I hope for that feel.
Years of simple shapes (mostly squares) have run me through the gamut of choices in forms and finishes…severe, pure, bright, painted, rusted, old, worn, smooth, and rough: Pieces in site, pieces about site. Pieces about walls or light, and pieces about both elements.
In 1989, when my son was born, I built a series of works in elemental shapes with bright colors…children’s colors. That show was a statement of joy and hope and color. Now I am back there in a way (add 21 years) with new shapes and different colors. The challenge is to make it work without losing the integrity of shape or color. Ask a painter about the power of color, and ask a sculptor about the power of shape. Ask me, somewhere in the middle, about the power of both things. That describes my current artistic efforts. I’ve often told my students that the closest thing to a powerful piece is a really dumb piece. As a “big mountain” skier my son has had to choose the most powerful line down a mountain, which is often the line closest to disaster. I try for that line in sculpture. Much like any pursuit, to be safe is not acceptable, to be great is the aspiration, and to crash is also part of the process. The mix of all these creates art marked by passion, joy, regret, and best of all hope. My hope is to get to continue the process and the journey.
Resume
Born 1946, Kansas City, Missouri
EDUCATION
1972 M.F.A., Sculpture, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
1970 B.F.A., Sculpture, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
1968 B.A., Liberal Arts, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009 Full Circle, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe
2002 Miami Work, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe
1997 Paper and Steel, Gallery 1114, Midland, TX
1996 Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe
1992 Janus Gallery, Santa Fe
1991 Janus Gallery, Santa Fe
1990 Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe
1989 Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe
1987 Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe
1984 Linda Durham Contemporary Art, Santa Fe
1981 Wildine Gallery, Albuquerque
Clark-Benton Gallery, Santa Fe
1980 Wildine Gallery, Albuquerque
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2005
Made in Miami, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa FE
Circles and Stones, Sangre de Cristo Art Center, Pueblo, CO
2001
Monothon, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
2000
Monothon, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
1999
Monothon, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
1998
Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos: The City Series, Cedar Rapids Museum of
Art, Cedar Rapids, IA
10th Anniversary Show, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe
Faculty Show, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Monothon, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
1997
Monothon, Santa Fe
Faculty Show, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
GROUP EXHIBITIONS, continued
1996
Faculty Show, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Sculpture Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
1995
Artist/Teachers, The College of Santa Fe Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe
1993
New Mexico Ninety Three, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe
1991
Singular Vision, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe
1987
Going to the Dogs, Janus Gallery, Santa Fe
Statement >87, Gallery, Santa Fe
1986
The Alcove Show, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe
1982
Summer Show, Shidoni Sculpture Gallery, Tesuque, NM
1981
Rosalind Constable Selects, Santa Fe Festival of the Arts, Santa Fe
1978-80 Outdoor Sculpture Show, Shidoni Foundry, Tesuque, NM
SELECTED COMMISSIONS
1993 “Unclimbed Peaks”, sculpture, Joan and David Clark, Santa Fe
1991 “Northview,” site sculpture, Margot and Robert Linton, Tesuque, NM
1990 “Parenthesis,” site sculpture, Margot and Robert Linton, Tesuque, NM
1989 “Turtle Rocks,” site sculpture, Mr. and Mrs. Morton H. Meyerson
“Patchwork Fence,” site sculpture, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque
1988 “Folded Screens,” site sculpture, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Grant, Denver, CO
1986 “Corner Squares,” site sculpture, Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe
1985 “Golden Rectangles,” site sculpture, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
1984 “Atlantis Cylinders,” site sculpture, Joan and David Clark, Santa Fe
1983 “Las Amarillas,” site sculpture, Joan and David Clark, Santa Fe
1982 “Yule Lakes,” site sculpture, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass CO
1980 “Bench,” site sculpture, Robert Neville, Santa Fe
1978 “Vertical Stones,” site sculpture, Verde Valley School, Sedona, AZ
1977 “Baring Face,” site sculpture, Sheldon Sackerman, Lantana, FL
“Whirly,” site sculpture, Dr. Skeets Harris, Baltimore, MD
Site sculpture, Carbondale Municipal Park Playground, Carbondale, CO
SELECTED PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Jonathan Abrams, Albuquerque
Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque
Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass CO
John Batz, Santa Barbara CA
City of Carbondale, Carbondale CO
Joan & David Clark, Santa Fe
College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe
Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Carbondale NM
Rosalind Constable, Santa Fe
Mercedes Eicholz, Santa Barbara CA
Dr. and Mrs. Rob Feldman, Santa Fe
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Grant, Denver CO
Dr. Skeets Harris, Baltimore MD
Meg Heydt, Santa FE NM
Margot and Robert Linton, Tesuque NM
Marlene N. Meyerson, Dallas TX
Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe NM
Robert Neville, Santa Fe NM
Dr. and Mrs. Michael Ogg, Santa Fe NM
Sheldon Sackerman, Lantana FL
Verde Valley School, Sedona AZ
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
1996 Kathleen McCloud, “The Similarity Between Steel and Paper,” Pasatiempo/ The New Mexican, July 5
1992 Candelora Versace, “Strong Artistic Statements,” Journal North/Albuquerque Journal, May 22
1991 Simone Ellis, “Three Sculptors,” Pasatiempo/ The New Mexican, May 4
William Peterson, Elliot Norquist: Sculpture, ARTSPACE, January
1990 Wade Wilson, “Turtle Rocks: A Sculptural Environment,” Art Gallery International, April
Arden Reed, “Geometry as Gesture,” ARTSPACE, November/December
1989 Sandy Ballatore, “Artist Helps Students Stretch Their Imaginations,” Albuquerque Journal, June 11
1981 William Peterson, “Elliot Norquist at Clarke-Benton,” ARTSPACE, June/July
Wendy Wilson, “Art All Over the Floor,” The Santa Fe Reporter, Summer
1980 William Peterson, “Elliot Norquist,” ARTnews, December
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
1995-96 Sculpture Instructor, College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe NM
1989-90 Ashby Harper Visiting Scholar, Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque NM
1985-86 Sculpture Instructor and Artist in Residence, Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC
1983-84 Sculpture Instructor and Artist in Residence, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass CO
1979-80 Sculpture Instructor and Artist in Residence, Verde Valley School, Sedona AZ
1977-78 Sculpture Instructor, Colorado Mountain College, Glenwood Springs CO
1972-76 Art Instructor, Head of Art Department, Wilderness Session Director, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Carbondale, CO