ARTIST STATEMENT

I think in terms of a ZOOM in/ZOOM out quality of life: zoom in on the immediate:  food, jokes, bills, lovers, traffic, temperature . . . zoom out: oceans, volcanoes, solar system, sugar molecules in space, a planet made entirely of diamond, vast wastes, dark matter, universe . . . repeat. Reality lays itself out in a fractal manner. Pattern recognition is a crucial tool to hone. This is wrapped up in a childlike sense that so much is happening all at once; tigers and happy hour exist on the same planet, Jupiter and Twinkies share a solar system.

Using acrylic paint, graphite, ink, as well as, collage with my own manipulated photography (often using actual photographs of a work in progress, flipped, repeated, resized and printed back into the physical to use in the work), generous amounts of glitter, paper, and various found materials. Much of my work comes down to finding  balance between two opposing approaches. One, loose painting techniques: dripping, pours, flow and scatters which effectively represent natural elements – weather, water, clouds, smoke, etc. And the other, using architects’ tools, templates and compasses to rigorously draw controlled lines, concentric circles, grids and repetitive dots; using these to reflect structures and infrastructures that we build.

I am influenced by the look of outer space, computer chips, dramatic weather, electric circuits, decay, rock-n-roll glamour, plans and diagrams, b-rate sci-fi control panels, urban environments, fluid turbulence, engineering schematics and architectural drawings, and, increasingly, the stunning good looks of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.  In my work there are things that come up again and again:  Lost highways, nebulas, grids, geometric forms, mysterious powerful ladies who appear to be performing strange rites, mountains, animals, the woods, water in all states (solid, liquid, vapor), and cities, often isolated and/or in a state of decay.

All of my work is an attempt to find the balance between order and chaos.

About

Counsel Langley grew up among shipwrights and foundry workers—people with strong traditional skills and respect for materials. Their influence played a large part in her choice to study metalsmithing at Massachusetts College of Art (earned her Bachelor’s of Fine Art, 1999). The rigor of metalwork honed Langley’s discipline, steady hand, attention for detail, and love for surface treatment (rough, smooth, matte, shiny, sparkly, natural, mechanical etc).  Her work remains rooted in a metalsmith’s approach to making art.

Langley’s mixed media pieces have been widely exhibited; venues include the Museum of Northwest Art, Roq La Rue, International Gallery of Contemporary Art, PUB Gallery at Peninsula College, OGHE Ltd., and Bridge Productions, and was recently featured in a Microsoft Surface Launch Campaign. Her work is held by the Seattle City Light Portable Works Collection and ArtsWA Public Collection. Langley’s work has been featured in Seattle Magazine, City Arts Magazine, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Trickhouse, Beautiful/Decay blog. Her love for cross-discipline collaborations sparked opportunities to work with literary publications Filter Literary Journal, Poetry Northwest Magazine, the creation of album art, scenic design, and illustration.

RESUME

SELECTED SOLO SHOWS

2022         
Homer Public Library Reading Room, Homer, AK
2021         
Bear Gallery, Fairbanks Arts Association, Fairbanks, AK
2020       
International Gallery of Contemporary Art, If You Lived Here You’d Be Home by Now, Anchorage AK
2018
Fort Worden, Art in Public Places, Port Townsend WA
2017
Earthenworks, Port Townsend WA
2016
Peninsula College Gallery, Port Angeles WA
2015
Ghost Gallery (with Amelia Layton-Reed), Seattle WA
2011
Ghost Gallery, Girl Meets Universe, Seattle WA
2010
Museum of Northwest Art, Resonances: Contemporary Echoes Modern, Invitational, LaConner WA
2009
Mithun Architecture, Fluid Structure, Seattle WA
Gossamer Collective, 2 Sides 2 Every Story, Seattle WA
Canoe Social Club, B-Sides, Seattle WA
2008
AOT, Cloud Atlas, Port Townsend WA
2007
Suite 100 Gallery, Urbanity, Seattle WA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023
Art Collide, Order & Chaos, online juried show “Notable Entry”
KBM Art Gallery, “Any Art, Any Time,” online juried show, Riverside, CA
Collage Artists of America Open Exhibit, "Connections," online juried show, SFVACC/SCORE, Encino, CA
Trinity Art Show, Trinity Cathedral Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2020
Fairbanks Arts Associations, Resilience: AK Artists Respond to the Concept pf Resilience, Online Exibition at artandresilience.org
2019
IGCA, Members Exhibition, Anchorage AK
2018
Ghost Gallery, Seattle WA
2017
Bridge Productions, Many Lands, Invitational, Guest Curator Ben Gannon, Seattle WA
PT School of the Arts Gallery, Port Townsend, WA
Jefferson General Hospital, Curator Michael D'Allesandro, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend WA
2015
Northwind Arts Center, Art Port Townsend, Juror Kathleen Moles, Port Townsend WA
Northwind Arts Center, Art in the Library, Port Townsend WA
2014
Ghost Gallery, Into the Woods, Seattle WA
2013
Steele Gallery, BLACKgreyWHITE, Invitational, curator Julia Hensley, Gage Academy of Art, Seattle WA
Northwind Arts Center, Coming Unbound, Port Townsend WA
2012
Roq La Rue, Red Current (sweet fruit), Invitational, curator Sharon Arnold, Seattle WA
St. John's, Ghost Gallery Off-Site Exhibits, Seattle WA
Collective Visions Gallery, CVG '12, Kathleen Moles juror, Bremerton WA
2011
Northwind Arts Center, [so] Much [too] Little, Invitational w/ Gala Bent and Sharon Arnold, Port Townsend WA
Artisans on Taylor, You, Me & Geometry, Invitational w/ Ollie Glatzer and Shellee Miggens, Port Townsend WA
Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Back Country, Port Angeles WA
Richard Hugo House, A Good Line: Artists on Poems, Invitational, Seattle WA
Northwind Arts Center, Art Port Townsend, Gary Fagin juror, Port Townsend WA
Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Strait Art, Port Angeles WA
2010
Brooklyn Art Library, The Space Between Us, Brooklyn NY
Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Strait Art, Invitational, Port Angeles WA
Mighty Tieton, 10x10x10xTieton, Tieton WA
Gallery 40, whizARTbang, Seattle WA
Ghost Gallery, Best of, Invitational, Seattle WA
Monarch Contemporary, Meet Greet Rinse Repeat, Curated by Troy Gua, Seattle WA
Collective Visions Gallery, CVG '10, Bremerton WA
AOT Gallery, Objects of Desire, Invitational, Port Townsend WA
2009
OHGE Ltd, DWG: A Look at Contemporary Mark Marking, Invitational, Seattle WA
Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery, Seattle City Light Portable Works: Part 1, Seattle WA
Canoe Social Club, Uneasy Heavens Await Those Fleeing, Invitational, Curator Jen Borges Foster Seattle WA
Canoe Social Club, Calling Card, Invitational, Curator Anne Blackburn, Seattle WA
Bunny Gunner, Summertime, Invitational, Pomona CA
Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Strait Art, Invitational, Port Angeles WA
Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA. Traveling Exhibition: Museum of Contemporary Art DC, Washington, DC. Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA. Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA. Antena Gallery, Chicago, IL. Soulard Art Market, St. Louis, MO. 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY. Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), Atlanta, GA. Chicago Art Source Gallery, Chicago IL
2008
CoCA, HYBRID, Seattle WA
Stylus Salon, Ghost Gallery, Structure, Beauty & Decay, Invitational, Seattle WA
Art House Gallery, the canvas project, Atlanta GA
Suite 100 Gallery, Sweet 100, Seattle WA
AOT, Treasure, Invitational, Port Townsend WA
SOLO Bar, Ghost Gallery, Mini-Art Extravaganza, Seattle WA
Northwind Arts Center, The Alchemy of the Abstract, Port Townsend WA
2007
Northwind Arts Center, Art Port Townsend, Northwest Expressions, Port Townsend WA
Artisans on Taylor, LIFEDOTDOTDOT, Invitational, Port Townsend WA
2006
Wheeler Theatre, Fort Worden, Interactions: Art & Art, Port Townsend WA
Northwind Arts Center, Earth, Air, Fire & Water, Port Townsend WA
The Art Mine, Square One, Invitational, Port Hadlock WA

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

ArtsWA: Washington State Arts Commission, location Salish Coast Elementary, Port Townsend, WA
ArtsWA: Washington State Arts Commission, location Peninsula Community College, Port Angeles, WA
Seattle City Light Portable Works Collection, Seattle WA

AWARDS & HONORS

2019 Featured in Launch Campaign for Microsoft Surface Earbuds: Sizzle Video, Contextual Video, and Surface.com Website
2015 Special Award, Art Port Townsend, Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend WA
2012 3rd place 2D, CVG '12, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton WA
2010 Finalist: The Space Between Us, Arthouse CoOp, Brooklyn NY
2009 Nomination and selection for competitive purchase by Seattle City Light: Portable Works
2007 Best of Show, Art Port Townsend, Northwind Arts Center
1998 Mobilia Gallery Award, Cambridge MA

EDUCATION

2018 Write for Children, Jolie Stekly
Children's Book Illustration: Focus on Style, University of California, San Diego
2017 Children's Book Illustration: Thinking in Pictures, Joy Chu, University of California, San Diego
1999 Bachelor of Fine Art, Metals, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston MA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2017
Program Manager, Port Townsend School of the Arts
Scenic Art Direction, Key City Public Theatre, Port Townsend WA
2008 to present
Arts Educator, various venues: Gage Art Academy, Seattle, PT School of the Arts, PT Public School District, PT Public Library, OCEAN Program, private classes/consultation
2009
Curator, Shape of Water, NW Maritime Center, Port Townsend WA
2008-2010
Port Townsend Arts Commissioner, Position 9, served on Funding and Public Art Committees
2007
Curator, LIFEDOTDOTDOT, Artisans on Taylor, Port Townsend WA
Curator, Heartbreaker, Artisans on Taylor, Port Townsend WA
1998-2001
Artist’s Assistant to Denise Marika, Boston MA
1998
Teaching Assistant, Metals Department, Mass College of Art, Boston MA 

SELECTED PRINT PUBLICATIONS

2018 City Arts Magazine, January 2018
Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, Vol 12, Issue 1
2014 Poetry Northwest Magazine, The Social Media Issue
2012 Poetry Northwest Magazine, The Science Issue
2011
Filter vol. III
Seattle Magazine, Sarai DOMINGUEZ, October
2008 Filter vol. II
2007
Visual Codec's ONE SHOT
Juxtapoz.com
The Roethke Readings, compiled by Jennifer Borges Foster for ACT Theatre and 11th Hour Productions
2004 Slurry Magazine, Spring edition

SELECTED ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Featured Artist, Artsy Shark, Nov. 2023
Hobo Camp Review, Issue 26. Winter 2016/17
Supersonic Electronic Art
Trickhouse, Vol. 15
Beautiful/Decay
Visual Overture Magazine Artist of the Week
Pilot Books: SMALLS
ChicTip
Compulsory Listening

AFFILIATIONS

Member SCBWI since 2014