David B. Smith Gallery

Artist Statement:

Lanny De Vuono has long used the landscape as a visual metaphor for our desire to contain what cannot be contained. She uses the landscape as a near illustration of our own human nature, stating," What we feel is limitless and expansive, we want to own; where we find beauty, we try to ascribe purpose. Whether we see it devastated from war, ecological upheaval or simply our own use, the landscape maps our histories and hopes."

In this series, with a nod to the odd, illusionary potential of drawing itself, DeVuono skews perspectives, near and far. Using landscape imagery as a foil, she juxtaposes scenes of natural beauty with references to history and the environment. Influenced by 19th century Romantic Landscape painting as well as the truncated views from a camera lens, past series have included Communism as Nostalgia, American Short Stories and Large Romance Paintings.

Artist Biography:

Lanny DeVuono is an artist and the Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Colorado Denver. DeVuono’s paintings and drawings focus on intersections between environmental and social concerns. She has received a Washington State Artist Trust Fellowship, a GAP Grant, a Fulbright Fellowship and residencies at Yaddo, Centrum and Jentel. Selected exhibitions include: Seattle as a Collector, Seattle Art Museum, Ars Mundi, Vancouver, British Columbia. Selected public collections include, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Jundt Art Museum, King County Court House, University of Washington Medical Center, Swedish Hospital, among others.