“My collage paintings address the themes of personal and cultural identity, impermanence and the beauty of things unconventional. My practice is deeply informed by a life-long case of wanderlust and an intense curiosity about places and people and the ways we change each other, an ineffable transfer of experience. A deep interest in Japanese art, thought and philosophy have led me to the explore the principles of wabi-sabi, which celebrates what is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. My work acknowledges thoughts and ideas about how the continually changing nature of all beings and objects affect the view of oneself and how place and identity are inextricably bound to one another. With an emphasis on process I create textured surfaces by responding to the changes in the picture as I explore and interact with my materials. Moving between intuition and logic, chaos and order, I reunite and record fragments of thoughts, feelings and memories. By creating an ephemeral path between internal experiences and external encounters, I ask: Who am I? Who are we?” -- Teri Dryden

About the artist:

Teri Dryden’s unorthodox path to becoming an artist began with immersion in an ancient art form in which she was the medium. A theatre major at Towson University in Maryland, she excelled in physical expression and comedy.  At the urging of an instructor, she auditioned and won a coveted spot as one of the few female clowns in the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. For two unforgettable years, she performed in every state in the U.S. in one of the most colorful and visually stimulating environments imaginable.

She then moved to Los Angeles and became an award-winning stage actress, but left the stage when her first child was born. After making beautiful fabric art for several years, Teri decided to take an art class, and discovered a latent talent and passion for painting and drawing.  During a remarkably short and prolific period, she won several awards and sold dozens of paintings and drawings to rapt fans who recognized her unique sense of composition and color in dramatic florals and still-lifes. She feels she has found her true aesthetic after discovering the fascinating world of mixed media and collage.

She is a member of the Collage Artists of America, National Collage Society and Women Painters West. Her work is included in many private collections and has been exhibited in numerous solo, group, and juried exhibitions across the country. In 2010 she and her husband moved to the historic river city of Louisville, Kentucky, to enjoy the slower pace and rich heritage of a smaller city with one of America’s most vibrant art scenes. Teri continues to revel in daily discoveries about art and her own sensibilities, and fearlessly explores the infinite possibilities of various media and genres.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

2020
"the zen of things" B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

2019
"Permutations," Brandt - Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH Group Exhibition

"Yutori," New work created at Shiro Oni Studio, Onishi, Japan, B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

"2019 L.A. Artcore, 5th Annual Juried Exhibition," Los Angeles, CA Group Exhibition

2018
Shir Oni Studio, Onishi, Japan, Artist Residency

"Objects of Art Santa Fe 2018," Santa Fe, NM

“Open to Interpretation,” Danville Community Arts Center, Danville, KY Juried Invitational

Marburger Art Show, J. Compton Gallery, Round Top, TX

2017
“Out of Line,” B. Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

“Melange,” Brandt-Roberts Gallery, Columbus, OH Juried Invitational

“Objects of Art Santa Fe 2017,” Santa Fe, NM Juror: Kurt Gohde

“Gridworks,” New Additions Gallery, Lexington, KY Group Exhibition

“notBig (4),” MS Rezny Studio Gallery, Lexington KY

“Mix it Up,” New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY Group Exhibition

2016 “Juxtapose,” Community Arts Center, Danville, KY Group Exhibition
“Mix it Up,” New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY Group Exhibition
“Altered States of Collage,” San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center, Tarzana, CA National Juried Exhibition

2015
“Confetti Circus,” Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

“Interplay,” New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY 3 Person Exhibition

“notBIG(3),” MS Rezny Studio Gallery, Lexington, KY Juror: Nathan Zamarron

2014
“10th Annual Mazin Juried Art Exhibition,” Patio Gallery, Louisville, KY Juror: McCrystle Wood, 2nd place award


“More & More,” MS Rezny Studio Gallery, Lexington, KY Juror: Jenine Culligan

2013
“Street to Studio,” Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

“4th National Juried Exhibition of Small Scale Works of Art,” MTSU Todd Art Gallery, Murfreesboro, TN Juror: Jochen Wierich

“Horizons- Contemporary Landscapes,” Community Arts Center, Danville, KY Juror:Boris Zakic

“By the Numbers,” Public Gallery, Louisville, KY Group Exhibition

“not(2)BIG,” MS Rezny Studio Gallery, Lexington, KY Juror: Arturo Sandoval

2012
“Collage,” Hardscuffle Gallery, Louisville, KY Group Exhibition

“Sram Part Project,” Cedar Lake Theatre, NYC, NY

“Drawing Together” Firehouse Gallery, Louisville, KY Group Exhibition

“Mazin Annual Juried Art Exhibition,” Patio Gallery, Louisville, KY Juror: Wendi Smith, 3rd place award

“56th Mid-States Art Exhibition,” Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN Juror: Peter Plagens

“National Collage Society 28th Annual Juried Exhibit,” Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, PA Jurors: Daniel D. Miller, Christine Poggi and Carol Wisker, Pat Dewes Member Award

“notBIG Small Art Exhibition,” MS Rezny Gallery, Lexington, KY Juror: Jack Girard, Purchase Award and Honorable Mention

2011
“Totem Diaries,” Firehouse Gallery, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

“Ex-Libris,” Hudson Home, Louisville, KY Solo Exhibition

“Paper Poets,” Patio Gallery, Louisville, KY Group Exhibition

“Mazin Annual Juried Art Exhibition,” Patio Gallery, Louisville, KY Juror: Ed Hamilton, 3rd place award

“Women Painters West Celebrates 90 Years,” Designer Service Group, Los Angeles, CA Juror: Joe Gatto

“Water Tower Regional Exhibition,” The Water Tower, Louisville, KY Jurors: Alice Gray Stites and Suzanne Weaver

“Deconstruction/Reconstruction,” Burbank Creative Arts Center, Burbank, CA Group Exhibition


2010
“Beneath the Surface,” Gallery Western LA, CA Group Exhibition, Curator: Monica Lee

“Layers of Creativity,” Ventura County Government Center, Ventura, CA Curator: Phyllis Doyon

“Outside the Box,” Canoga Park (CA) Art Center (for the Dept of Cultural Affairs) Curator:Teri Dryden

“Deconstruction/Reconstruction,” Burbank Creative Arts Center, Burbank, CA

“Deconstructed Applications,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery Curator: Mary Oliver

“Opposites Attract,” Collage Artists of America, Viva Art Center, Sherman Oaks, CA Juror:Franklyn Liegel, 2nd place award

“Women Painter’s West,” Voca, Venice, CA Juror: Scott Canty, 2nd place award

“Finished/Unfinished,” Brand 39 Works on Paper, The Brand Library, Los Angeles, CA Juror: Gloria Williams Sander

“Five Elements of Nature,” Orlando Gallery, Tarzana, CA Curators: Bob Gino and Don Grant

“All Media Juried Exhibition 2010,” Palos Verdes Art Center, CA Juror: Dan Callis

“Four Faces of Viva,” Viva Art Center, Sherman Oaks, CA Juror: Carol Bishop

“TOAA 2010 Open Juried Exhibition,” Thousand Oaks (CA) Community Gallery Juror: Donna Granata, 3rd place award


2009
“Valley Artists Guild Gold Medal Exhibition,” Viva Art Center, Sherman Oaks, CA Juror: Ramela Grigorian Abbamontial 2nd place award

“Viva Ten, All Group Show,” Viva Art Center, Sherman Oaks, CA Juror: Gerald Brommer


MEDIA LINKS

Teri Dryden's Blog from her Residency in Onishi, Japan https://teridryden.blogspot.com/

Teri Dryden Artebella on the Radio https://www.louisvillevisualart.org/blog/2018/10/19/lvas-artebella-on-the-radio-101818

"The Search for Well Being," Review of "Yutori" by Keith Waits

http://arts-louisville.com/2019/02/18/the-search-for-well-being/?fbclid=IwAR1rXz2eLWj4vk900LlDKBc32rlzrAddPfuBjEjAPLLLVjVmo8pHoo99YoE

"A Q&A with mixed media Artist Teri Dryden," by Joanne Triplett, LEO Weekly

read:https://www.leoweekly.com/2019/01/qa-mixed-media-artist-teri-dryden/?fbclid=IwAR2icUQl7sVBQl77AwWwDi8q1ifQHogx5oCjxr73LotFUtqvGQKvXArPtGI

LEO Podcast https://www.leoweekly.com/2018/12/leo-podcast-69/



Artist Statement

“I grew up in a house of paper that could burn up, rip apart or blow away at any given moment. I learned very early in life that nothing lasts—not love, home or family—and that I couldn’t trust a soul. Like a feral cat. It still hurts when I remember my 16-year-old self feeling so insecure and insubstantial that when my father left us it almost made sense.

I was the oldest of four kids in a lower middle-class Irish Catholic family on the outskirts of Baltimore. My dad was a cop. My mom was a jack-of-all-trades—waitress, bookkeeper, mother, wife. She was always sad. I think what kept us together during those years was a keen sense of humor that gave us hope and belief that life is what you make it.

Using paper as a metaphor for home, my exhibition of new work addresses the themes of memory, loss, shame, and the fragile and tenuous connection of family while embracing the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, which celebrates what is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.”

--Teri Dryden, 2024

PUBLICATIONS

Rick Phillips “Kentucky Homes and Garden Magazine”, July - Aug 2017 https://issuu.com/rickphillips/docs/khg_julaug17_lexington

Hunter Kissell, “A Unique Pairing” http://www.under-main.com/newsletter/a-unique-pairing-teri-dryden-at-b-deemer/ July, 2017

Voice Tribune, Society Pages, June 29, 2017

CJ Staff, “Critic’s Picks:Visual Arts, Courier Journal, June 4, 2017

Jo Anne Triplett, “Staff Picks”, LEO Weekly, May 31, 2017 http://www.louisvillevisualart.org/artebella/2017/9/19/vignette-teri-dryden

Jo Anne Triplett, “Q&A with Teri Dryden”, LEO Weekly, July 21, 2016

Keith Waits, “Confetti Circus: New Work by Teri Dryden”, Arts-Louisville.com, May 15, 2015

Elizabeth Kramer, “Critic’s Pick” Courier Journal, May 10, 2015

Jo Anne Triplett, “Staff Picks”, LEO Weekly, June 3, 2015

Elizabeth Kramer, “Critic’s Pick”, Courier Journal, November 30, 2014

Jo Anne Triplett, “Staff Picks”, LEO Weekly, April 3, 2013

Elizabeth Kramer, “ Best Bets”, Velocity Magazine, April 29, 2013

Mary Jean Kirtley, “Spotlight” Highlander Monthly, April 2013

Brandi Terry, “Spotlight On”, LEO Weekly, Aug 24, 2011

Jo Anne Triplett, “Staff Picks”, June 15, 2011

Sandra Ford, “Area Artists Showcased”, Ventura County Star, May 26, 2010


WORKSHOPS and RESIDENCIES
Claudio Lee, paper making at Liberty Paper Mill, Liberty, TN
Shiro Oni Studio Artists Residency, Onishi, Japan Aug - Sep, 2018 http://www.shirooni.com/
Katherine Chang Liu / Critique and Studio Painting, Claremont, CA (ongoing)
Audrey Phillips / Abstract Painting Immersion / Atlantick Center for the Arts, New Smyrna, FL April, 2018
Nancy Hills, Katherine Aimone / "Doing the Work of Your Life," Asheville, NC May, 2016


PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Swope Design Group, Louisville, KY,

Bluegrass Eye Center, Crestwood, KY,

Beach Terrace Inn, Carlsbad, CA,

Insight Communications,

University Hospital OB/GYN & Women's Health of Louisville, KY,

K. Norman Berry Architects, Louisville, KY,

Mann & Fox Dental, Louisville, KY,

First Kentucky Trust, Louisville, KY,

Arts and crafts Dental, Louisville KY,

UBS Financial Services, Louisville, KY,

The Tower at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh, PA,

University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY,

River City Wellness, Louisville KY

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Women Painters
West Collage Artists of America
Louisville Visual Arts
National Collage Association