Grant earned a B.F.A. at Columbia College in Chicago, studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and earned an M.F.A. at Tyler School of Art. Most recently she has been one of three artists-in-residence at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and also participated in the A.I.M Program at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. She has lectured on her work at Hunter College, Tyler School of Art, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The New School University, Montclair State University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Her work has been seen in a number of group exhibitions in New York at David Beitzel Gallery, Knoedler Gallery, Sara Meltzer Gallery, Triple Candie Gallery, The Bronx Museum, Roebling Hall, and Arena Gallery. The New York Times, and the New York Press, and New York Magazine reviewed her work in the Freestyle exhibition curated by Thelma Golden for the Studio Museum in Harlem. The New York Times featured her work in an article about the artists in residence at the SMH in Dec. 2002. Grant explains the genesis of her RANDOM SELECT series; “This series began eight years ago while I was sitting on the floor of my studio drawing on any old paper. The memories of private school dorms, psych wards, crack and smack dwellings, dead end bars in the afternoon, and the people that I met in these places, are the catalyst for my drawings and paintings. With the chaotic noise of the world that acts as a constant talk radio station in my head. I draw and paint the realities of life as a bad Bosch and Looney Tunes depiction….I decided to call my series RANDOM SELECT. RANDOM would be defined as any subject matter that was social, political, religious, and humorous imagery. While SELECT was the actual choice of subject matter and how it was depicted. The whole point was to take these random ideas and make them be seen as metaphors for the human condition. This is the key to my Pandora’s Box.” While in residence at the college, Grant will continue work on a series of new mixed media works on chalkboards, and explore new approaches for her ideas in digital printmaking. During a residency the artist will present a public lecture on her work, and participate in the group critiques of SMP studio students and conduct individual studio visits.
For more information about this artist, visit: http://www.newarttv.com/Deborah+Grant