Photo by Luke Seward
Douglas Degges (b. Shreveport, LA) is an artist and educator currently based in Utica, NY and Mansfield Center, CT where he is an Associate Professor of Art in Painting and Drawing at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT. Douglas received his MFA from the University of Iowa and a BA in Studio Art from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. His work has been exhibited in various group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad. Most recently his work was exhibited at Proyecto T in Mexico City, Mexico, Side Room Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, the Pratt Munson Gallery in Utica, NY, Cleaner Gallery + Projects in Chicago, IL, Whitespec in Atlanta, GA, Stove Works in Chattanooga, TN, and the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College in Shreveport, LA. His work has been supported by several artist residencies including the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, Stove Works, the Vermont Studio Center, Casa Lü, and the Millay Colony.
email: douglasdegges@gmail.com
Instagram: @douglasdegges
Short statement on a squirrel from memory:
Since Fall 2019, Degges has been painting and drawing from cell phone photos supplied to him by his immediate family in an ongoing group text. His mom, dad, and brother, in keeping him up to date with what is going on in their lives, share the things they do and see near his childhood home in Louisiana. These images serve as an image bank from which he abstracts elements for a squirrel from memory, a visually and materially wide-ranging body of work. This project explores digital experiences, the pressure to possess a singular voice or vision, and the concept of home as something immaterial and held within the body.