In the core of our existence is a wellspring of creativity. It is a way of seeing, a way of knowing, a way of becoming. In art, this wellspring connects us to the evolving spirit of the universe so that we are no longer finite and alone. This same wellspring of creativity yields a language without which there would be silence.
As an artist, I tap into this wellspring to create. My imagery looks to nature for the vocabulary of shapes and colors. It seeks inspiration from the feminine for the symbolism of deepening consciousness. It draws on the masculine for metaphors of strength. In making art, I celebrate the power of beauty and communicate the energy of joy.
These beliefs are the foundation for my work as a visual artist and writer. In my paintings and collages, I combine vibrant colors with dynamic shapes to capture landscapes and mindscapes. Poetry and photography are life-long pursuits.
My work is built on many layers. I studied privately in Washington, DC, and continued making art while working as a journalist at The Bureau of National Affairs Inc. in Washington, DC. I served as a speechwriter at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and, in 1998–2000, led a global communications effort at the U.N. Environment Program in Geneva, Switzerland. My B.A. is from Manhattanville College; my M.A. is from Georgetown University. A painter since 1980, I returned to my native Vermont in 2001 to be near family and to create art and write full time.
Solo shows have included Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH; Purdue University’s Odyssey Series; Atlas Performing Arts Center’s Bernstein Gallery, Washington, DC; Green Mountain College’s Feick Art Center, twice, Poultney, VT; Chaffee Art Center, Rutland, VT; Latchis Theatre Brattleboro, VT; Gallery at Equinox Village, Manchester, VT; Gallery at Brandon Music, Brandon, VT; and InView Art Center at the Landgrove Inn. Gallery in-the-Field in Brandon, VT, featured my work in a group show in 2007; a two-person show in 2008-2009; and, in 2011, a group show, which I also curated, titled The Power of Place — Landscapes and Mindscapes from Vermont. Other exhibitions have included S0H020 Gallery in Chelsea, NYC; Town Hall Theater’s Carolyn and Will Jackson Gallery, Middlebury; Artpath Gallery, Burlington, VT; the Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT; and Woman Made Gallery, Chicago. In 2012, the Chaffee Art Center presented my collages in the show — Women in the Arts — with funding from the Vermont Chapter of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
In Washington, DC, my work was exhibited at Rock Creek Gallery, Market 5 Gallery, A. Salon’s Wilson Center Gallery, and Capitol Hill Arts Work`shops. It was carried by art consultants in D.C., and shown in galleries in Annapolis, MD. Today, my work is in private collections in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
From 2004 to 2006, I was president of the Southern Vermont Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, a group devoted to professional women in arts, letters, and music. I hold membership both as an artist and a writer. I also created, hosted, and produced The Creative Way on community television in Rutland, VT.
Linda Durkee 