Judy Byron

Judy Byron is a multimedia artist and activist based in Washington, D.C. Her work has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.[1]

Judy Byron
Born
North Syracuse, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materIthaca College
Known forMultimedia

Early life and education

Byron was born in North Syracuse, New York[2] and grew up in a working-class Italian Irish family.[3][4] She received her bachelor's degree in speech and drama from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and studied printmaking at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C.[3]

After receiving her B.A., Byron volunteered for Gene McCarthy and the California farm workers.[4] When she moved to Washington, D.C., Judy Byron worked as a teacher at Cardozo High School.[4] She is married to photographer Rick Reinhard.[2][3]

Art

Byron has consciously moved away from traditional gallery spaces and displays her work in public spaces[2][4] and her home.[1] Byron's work consists of mostly drawings and portraits and she engages in an interactive process with the people and spaces represented in her work.[2][5] For example, in her project “One to One” (1992–1993) Byron worked with DC-area teenagers to create large portraits; she visited them at a place in which they were comfortable and documented the moment with photographs. The teenagers then visited Byron's studio as she created these portraits and took part in a writing workshop with playwright and artist Rebecca Rice.[5]

Byron has collaborated with other artists throughout her projects, such as poet Chasen Gaver[3] and, as mentioned above, Rebecca Rice.

Byron uses a variety of materials, such as crayon, wood, and paper.[2][5] She has employed several techniques for her projects, such as printmaking, engraving, woodcutting, and photography.[2][5] Her art focuses around themes of identity, belonging, growing up, and everyday rural or city life.[2][3][6]

In 1993, Byron received a $33,000 commission from the North Carolina Council for the Arts to create sixteen woodblock rubbings based on photos of North Carolinians. For the project, Byron spent two weeks traveling in North Carolina taking the photographs she would use for carving the woodblocks.[4]

Solo and Group Exhibitions
Year Title Location
1982 Groups    Northern Virginia Community College[2]
1988 In Common: Arlington County Observed Arlington Arts Center[3]
1990 Art Against AIDS on the Road Sawtooth Center for the Arts[1]
1991 We Are Your Sons and Daughters    Martin Luther King Jr. Library[7]
1992 Home    Arlington Arts Center[5]
1994 Artists + Community     National Museum of Women in the Arts[5]
2006 Where I Live: Exploring Identity through Bodies and Clothing Artist House Installation[1]
2008 WHAT MATTERS Artist House Installation[1]
2008 Picturing Politics: Artists Speak to Power Arlington Arts Center[8]
2009 What's Important Now? Nevin Kelly Gallery[9]
2010 Sweet Sixteen American University, Katzen Arts Center Museum[10]
2011 IN FLUX: WHAT MATTERS Joan Hisaoka Gallery, Smith Center for the Healing Arts[11]
2011 Perfect Girls Artist House Installation[1]
2014 Continental Drift American University, Katzen Arts Center Museum[12]

Corcoran Artist Mentorship Program

Judy Byron studied at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and later taught a course in “collaborative art”.[3] She later founded the Corcoran Artist Mentorship Program, which was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.[1]

Activism

In the 1980s, Byron was involved in starting the DC-based group, Black Artists/White Artists, which met to discuss issues of race and art.[4]

Judy Byron's activism is incorporated into her artistic projects. Her project “One to One” incorporated a mentorship component for the teenagers who participated, including journal-writing workshops.[5] In 1988, Byron created a woodcut for an AIDS awareness campaign with the slogan “AIDS touches us all”, which was displayed around Washington, DC.[7]

References
  1. "Judy Byron Biography". Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  2. Kernan, Michael (July 26, 1982). "Crayon Worlds". The Washington Post. p. C7.
  3. Kernan, Michael (January 23, 1988). "All About Arlington: A Poet & an Artist, Exploring the City's Personality". The Washington Post. p. G1.
  4. Kastor, Elizabeth (August 8, 1993). "A Turn in the South: Washington Artist Judy Byron Treks Hundreds of Miles in Search of 16 'Perfect' Faces". The Washington Post. p. G1.
  5. Ryan, Dinah (1994). "Artists + Community: Judy Byron". Art Papers. 18: 36.
  6. "Brooklyn Museum: Judy Byron". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  7. Portner, Jessica (November 7, 1991). "Cutting Close to Teenagers' World: Printmaker's Project Takes a Look at the District's Youths--Inside and Out". The Washington Post. p. DC1.
  8. Dawson, Jessica (August 29, 2008). "'Picturing Politics' Artists' Medium: The Sledgehammer". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  9. Vanessa (2009-11-21). "Nevin Kelly Gallery Blog: People were curious to find out What's Important Now". Nevin Kelly Gallery Blog. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  10. Dawson, Jessica (December 18, 2009). "Sweet Sixteen". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  11. "IN-FLUX Window Peek-Show (Series 2) - Smith Center for Healing and the Arts". Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  12. "Continental Drift | American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, Washington DC". American University. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
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