Invited artist: DEIDRE ARGYLE

 

Deidre Argyle

Statement: “Perpetual Evanescent” 

 

Wonder comes in many forms, and central to my artistic practice is a questioning about what and how we cope with our own impermanence. When given the prompt to create a “record of wonder,” it offered me an opportunity to reflect on moments in time when I was curious and open to uncertainty. 

 

In 2016, I relocated to the Ozarks, a place that I have familial ties to. My maternal grandparents retired in this region in the late 1980’s and I spent summers here crafting with grandma and fishing and canoeing with grandpa. They were formative times. My nuclear family moved often, and I never felt connected to a place, but Lakeview, Arkansas became the central hub for the family. My grandparents are gone, their ashes spread by the buoy we still tether our boat to on hot summer days.

 

From my perch on the family boat tethered to the buoy on Bull Shoals Lake, I often watch the surface of the water as it ebbs, flows, reflects, and transforms. These moments are calming and reflective. The water’s surface changes shape and patterns as it is influenced by a breeze, a boat, a fish, a swimmer... I wonder about life, time, memories, family history and their significance or insignificance on a grander scheme. The system we are a part of is both perpetual and evanescent, changing yet remaining the same. These moments of contemplation leave me with more questions, but at the same time are grounding and reassuring; understanding that life is temporary yet also constant.

 

 

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Deidre Argyle received her MFA in Sculpture from the University of Arizona and her BFA from San Jose State University. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Missouri State University. Her work brings forward our relationship to the process of transformation and explores how we can increase our connection to inherent cycles of our lives, in order to promote stronger relationships and understanding for one another.

 

She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in galleries and museums such as the Spartanburg Art Museum, University Galleries, the Arsenale, and SooVac- in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Tucson, Canada, New York, Venice, China, and Santa Clara amongst others. She completed a residency and solo exhibition in Jingdezhen, China, and was a finalist for the Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, Italy. She has also received two International Travel Grants, a Summer Faculty Fellowship, and Faculty Research Grant from Missouri State University. Next summer Argyle will participate in the Tractor Art Residency in Hungary at D’Clinic Studios that will culminate in an exhibition.