Britta Urness is originally from Black Earth, WI. She earned her BFA in Visual Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004 and her MFA in Painting and Drawing at the University of Iowa in 2008.
Britta has been an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM since 2022. Previously, she worked in teaching, academic advising, and museum educator roles at Michigan State University for over 13 years.
Statement
A few years back, I moved from Michigan to New Mexico to teach art. You could say that I participated in the "Great Resignation", following the trend of people seeking to upend their routines in search of resolute change. My Midwestern sensibility has been flipped on its side, leaving the landscape, colors and textures here to act as landmarks of my new normal. I’m finding my sea legs in this vast, arid region by absorbing all the new sensations I see and feel.
Using monoprint stencils, ink, paint, and drawing, I build surfaces that celebrate fragments of what we know. I think of all my works as collages that marry bits and pieces of ideas together: the gesture of a hand, a snapshot of a dance step, a weathered wall, a distorted shadow, or a familiar room. Combining these snippets leads me to understand new things about fears, memory, storytelling and the self.
CV
EDUCATION
MFA Painting and Drawing, Printmaking minor, University of Iowa, 2008
MA Painting and Drawing, Printmaking minor, University of Iowa, 2007
BFA Studio Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004
PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, painting + drawing, Eastern New Mexico University, 2022 - present
Art Lab Studio Educator, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, MI, 2019 - 2022
Adjunct Instructor, Department of Art, Art History + Design, Michigan State University, Michigan State University, 2011-2021
Academic Advisor, Department of Art, Art History + Design, Michigan State University, 2011 - 2018
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Art, Art History + Design, Michigan State University, 2008 - 2011
Instructor, School of Art + Art History, University of Iowa, 2007-8
Teaching Assistant, School of Art + Art History, University of Iowa, 2005 - 2007
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
2025 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AR, juried by Pedro Barbeito, Director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College
2024Decision '24, Charles Adams Gallery, Lubbock, TX, juried by Glasstire editor Brandon Zech
Experience and Connection Portfolio, MAPC Conference, Kansas State University, Manhattan KS
Impressed 2024: National Juried Printmaking Exhibition, Art Gym Gallery, Denver, CO, juried by Gregory Santos and Alanna Austin
2023
High and Dry, Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Regalos, Hecho Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Shifting H2O Currents, Light Art Space, Silver City, NM, curated by Kristin Martincic
El Paso Print Pachanga, Adobe Moonlight Hall, El Paso, TX, curated by Rigoberto Luna
Either Or/Neither Nor, Runnels Gallery, Eastern New Mexico University (solo)
2022
Manifest Folly, Eula Mae Edwards Gallery, Clovis, NM (solo)
2020
Sorry, I'm Not Leaving, Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing, MI (solo)
Holiday Benefit Featured Artist, Reach Studio Art Center, Lansing, MI
2019
City Art Connections, Eclectic Gallery, Battle Creek, MI
Inner Workings, Kresge Art Center, Michigan State University
The Black Arts Tarot 1: Major Arcana, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Selections in Printmaking from the Permanent Collection, Waage Gallery, Fergus Falls, MN, curated by Lori Charest
2018
The Black Arts Tarot 1: Major Arcana, Colorado Mesa University, CMU Art Gallery, Grand Junction, CO
A Gathering of Perspectives Cultivating Community, Waage Gallery, Fergus Falls, MN
Sometimes Bluebird, (SCENE)Metrospace, East Lansing, MI
Dear Creature, Delta College Galleria, Saginaw, MI (solo)
Hatchback 12, Hatch Art, Detroit, MI
too bad the good times don't last (Boom/Bust Cycles), Tressa Jones organizer, Southern Graphics Council International Conference, Las Vegas, NV
MINIPRINT International Exhibition, JVS Project Space, New York, NY
Superstitions, West Virginia University School of Art and Design
2017
Themeless, Whitdel Arts, Marygrove College, Detroit, MI
Art Girl Starter Pack, Robin Theatre, Lansing, MI
Pop Up: Special Edition, Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing, MI
Star-Crossed Lovers, Morissey Gallery, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA
Transcendental Depths, Buckham Gallery, Flint, MI
2016
Ain't No Real Wound, Hatch Art Collective Cafe 1923, Hamtramck, MI (solo)
Indirect Messaging, Greater Lansing Arts Council, Lansing, MIMI (solo)
Small Works, Lemonade Stand Gallery, Key West, FL
2015
93rd Annual All Media Show, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI
Resurrected: The Early Works, Satellite Contemporary, Las Vegas, NV
2014
Party Lines, Smart Clothes Gallery, New York City, NY
2013
Headspace, Rubies Paradise, Lansing MI, 2013 (solo)
BESIDE OURSELVES, Milkmaid Gallery EL, East Lansing, MI
Instructions_13, SCENE(Metrospace), East Lansing, MI
B3: Blooms, Bugs and Beasts (the natural absurd), Scarab Club, Detroit, MI
2012
LOVE FOR SALE (you know you need it), work-detroit, Detroit, MI
2009
Bevy, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN (solo)
ARTIST RESIDENCES
Golden Hour Residency, Power and Light Press, Silver City, NM, 2025
In Cahoots, Petaluma CA, 2024Grand Marais Artist Colony, Grand Marais, MN, 2024
PRINT PORTFOLIO CONTRIBUTIONS
Experience and Connection Portfolio, organized by Nicole Wolz and Alyssa Davis, Mid America Print Conference, Kansas State University, Manhattan KS, 2024
Reappropiation, organized by Alanna Austin, MAPC Conference, Kent State University, OH, 2022
The Black Arts Tarot II: Minor Arcana, organized by Matthew Hanson Weller, Grand Junction, CO, 2019
(un)Necessary Duplicates, organized by Megan O'Connor, Wayne State College, Wayne, NE, 2019
The Black Arts Tarot, organized by JC Cox, Minnesota State- Fergus Falls, Fergus Falls, MN, 2018
too bad the good times don't last (Boom/Bust Cycles), organized by Tressa Jones, SCGI Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2018
Superstitions, organized by Stephanie Alainz, West Virginia University, 2017
Value of Sum, organized by Matthew Hanson-Weller, Durango, CO, 2017
Star-Crossed Lovers, organized by Alison Filley, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA, 2017
Solidarity: Postcards for Peace at Standing Rock, organized by Aunna Escobedo-Wickham, Madison, WI, 2016
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
Never Not Nature: Megan Heeres, curator, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum Art Lab, East Lansing, MI 2021
Instructions_13, co-curator, (SCENE)Metrospace, East Lansing, MI, 2013
Oblique Patience, curator, (SCENE)Metrospace, East Lansing, MI, 2010
JUROR
East Lansing Art Festival, juror, East Lansing, MI, 2022
Young Masters Juried Student Art Show, Juror, Clovis Municipal Schools, Clovis, NM, 2022
2018 Holiday Exhibition, juror, Lansing Art Gallery, Lansing, MI, 2018
East Lansing Art Festival, juror, East Lansing, MI, 2020
Art in the Sky Program, juror, Arts Council of Greater Lansing Lansing, MI, 2020
Michigan 8th Congressional District High School Arts Exhibition, Juror, 2016
Change of Seasons, juror, Arts Council of White Lake, Whitehall, MI, 2015
Chris Clark Fellowship Program for Creative Professionals, juror, Arts Council of Greater Lansing, Lansing, MI, 2012
VISITING ARTIST
Luther College, Decorah, IA, 2010
VOLUNTEER PROJECTS + COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS
Mural Designer, United Way of Eastern New Mexico, Portales, NM, 2022
Instructor, Pirate Printing, Studio (in)Process, Broad Art Museum MSU, East Lansing, MI, 2018
Instructor, Creating Your Portfolio, Adult smARTS Workshop, Arts Council of Greater Lansing, Lansing, MI, 2018
Organizer, Draw/Be Drawn, monthly drop-in community drawing, Blue Owl Coffee, Lansing, MI, 2017
Instructor, Mixed-Media Portraiture, Summer Art Camp, Broad Art Museum MSU, East Lansing, MI, 2015
ART EVENT VENDING
UFOs Over Lubbock: High Plains PrintSlinger Showcase, Vendor, Charles Adams Studio Project, Lubbock, TX, 2024
Southwest Print Fiesta, Vendor, Silver City, NM
UFOs Over Lubbock: High Plains PrintSlinger Showcase, Vendor, Charles Adams Studio Project, Lubbock, TX, 2022
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cover Art, Lansing City Pulse, 19 July 2017, Volume 16, Issue 38 ed.: 1. Print.
Henderson, Carlee. “Following the instructions: Art show at (SCENE)Metrospace challenges artists with limitations.” lansingcitypulse.com. web. 1 Nov. 2013. 8 Nov. 2013.
Velez, Pedro. “Eye Exam: Museum Porn Arrives in the Midwest.” Newcity
Art. Newcity Communications, Inc. 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Downs, Davis, et al. Face, Figure, Identity. Chicago: Sprocketbox Media. 2012. Print.
Studio Visit Magazine. Volume 10. (2010): 164-5. Print.2009
"Pop Art Portraits." Grand Rapids Herald-Review, 25 Apr. 2009. Print.
Sturdevant, Andy. “Don’t Forget Where You Are: Two Iowa Artists Discuss the Flood of 2008.” MentalContagion . web. July 2008.