Photographer's Notes
The work of Mary Kunaniec Skeen is an exploration of the effects of memory, of deeply embedded emotion and of attempts to heal and refit the lost fragments of self.
Artist Statement
My earliest recollections include wanting only to be an artist. I was influenced not by any early formal training or exposure to traditional art venues. My earliest influences were photographs and illustrations in newspapers, magazines, movies and the image rich catholic church in which I was raised. I spent most of my free time drawing and painting with whatever materials I could find.
I earned a BFA degree in painting and printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art. However, in my senior year I was introduced to photography and discovered the perfect medium with which to make images. I left drawing and painting almost immediately. My photographic work however, has always been informed by my work and study of painting, printmaking and drawing.
I became interested in the history of the medium of photography early on when I first read Beaumont Newhall’s History of Photography. I worked for several years as a cataloger and appraiser of photographica for an auction gallery, and at that time began collecting daguerreotypes, ambrotypes ,tintypes, cartes de visite and cabinet cards.
I earned an MFA in photography at Towson University, and wrote and introduced a history of photography course to the University during my graduate work there. I have taught the history of photography, as well as many studio courses, both analog and digital since that time.
Mary Kunaniec Skeen is a fine arts photographer and professor of photography at Loyola University Maryland. Her work has been widely exhibited and she has received numerous awards and grants.
Education
MFA Photography – Towson University, Towson, MD
BFA Painting/Printmaking – Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Employment / Teaching
Loyola University Maryland – Baltimore, MD
Assistant Professor of Photography
Goucher College – Baltimore, MD
Adjunct Professor of Photography, History of Photography
Towson University – Towson, MD
Adjunct Professor of Photography, History of Photography
Harford Community College – Bel Air, MD
Adjunct Professor of Photography, History of Photography
Grants & Awards
2009 – Loyola University Faculty Summer Research Grant
2007 – Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artists Award
2005 – Loyola University Faculty Summer Research Grant
2001 – Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artists Award
1999 – Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artists Award
Exhibition Awards
2007 – Third Place Prize | The Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005 – First prize | Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA | Backroads & Boulevards Exhibit
2000 – Juror’s Award | Howard County Center for the Arts, Columbia, MD
2000 – Third Place Award | Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA | Eye/Mirror Exhibit
1999 – President’s Council Prize | St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, MO
1993 – Juror’s Award | The Photo Review Competition | Juror: Duane Michals
1992 – Honorable Mention | Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD
1990 – Second Place Award | Fairfax Council of the Arts, Fairfax VA
1989 – Honorable Mention | Sowebo Arts Festival, Baltimore, MD
Exhibitions
Selected Group Exhibitions | |
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2023 | Generations Crit II, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD |
Juried Photography Exhibit, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth, DE | |
Biennial Exhibit, Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD | |
Brilliance Exhibit, Artforms Gallery, Boston, MA | |
Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD | |
Online Gallery Exhibit, The Photo Review Competition 2023 | |
Big Show, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD | |
2022 | National Juried Photo Exhibit, Delaplaine Art Center, Frederick, MD |
2021 | Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibit, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD |
Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibit, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD | |
2020 | Focus Photography Exhibit, Delaplaine Art Center, Frederick, MD |
2019 | Women's Work, Full Circle Gallery, Baltimore, MD |
Superheroes, Y-Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD | |
2017 | Juried Photography Exhibit, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD |
Black and White, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Collective, Brooklyn, NY | |
2016 | National Juried Exhibition, Delaplaine Art Center, Frederick, MD |
Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD | |
2015 | Light Ekphrasis Project, LED Art Billboard, Baltimore, MD |
Blood Red Invitational, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD | |
2014 | Laughing Pint Exhibit – Sleepwalk, Baltimore, MD |
2013 | Knowing, Area 405 Gallery, Baltimore, MD |
2013 Juried Exhibit, Delaplaine Visual Arts Center, Frederick, MD | |
2012 | Juried Exhibit, Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE |
Station North Salon Exhibit, Baltimore, MD | |
2007 | The Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA |
2006 | 1212 Gallery, Richmond, VA |
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Washington DC | |
2005 | Photo National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA |
Fredericksburg Center for the Arts, Fredericksburg, VA | |
Art Institute and Gallery, Salisbury, MD | |
2004 | Artscape, Baltimore, MD |
The Art Connection, The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD | |
2003 | Just Color, Artforms Gallery, Philadelphia, PA |
Snapshot, Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD | |
2002 | Seeing Is Believing, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD |
2001 | Photoworks Gallery, Baltimore, MD |
Artscape, Baltimore, MD | |
Personal Narratives, Howard County Center For The Arts, Ellicott City, MD | |
2000 | Maryland Artists Series, Government House, Annapolis, MD |
Positive / Negative, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee University | |
Beveled Edge Gallery Annual Show, Baltimore, MD | |
Artscape, Baltimore, MD | |
1999 | National Photography Biennial, Silvermine Arts Center, New Canaan, CT |
Womens Caucas For Art, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, MO | |
Artscape, Baltimore, MD | |
1998 | Reunion Invitational, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD |
I Can See Clearly Now, Maryland Artists Series, Governor’s Mansion, Annapolis, MD | |
1997 | Spectra 97, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canann, CT – Juror: Robert Sobieszek |
Under No Management, Rockville Arts Place, Rockville, MD | |
Seventh Annual Photo Exhibit, Shepherd State College, Shepherdstown, WV | |
Night Lights, Metropol Gallery, Baltimore, MD | |
1996 | Woman The Artists View, Bennington Center For The Arts, Bennington, VA |
Making Waves In The Mid Atlantic, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
Artscape, Baltimore, MD | |
1995 | Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA | Trout Gallery |
Solo Exhibit, Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA | |
Solo Exhibit, Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD | |
State Of The Art Invitational, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
1994 | Myths, Dreams & Mysteries, Delaware Center For The Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE |
Solo Exhibit, School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD | |
Artscape 94, Baltimore, MD | |
Three Women, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD | |
Between The Sexes, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
1993 | All Media Exhibit, Contemporary Arts Center, North Adams, MA – Curators: Nancy Graves, Elizabeth Sussman |
Secret Pages Invitational, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
Women Image Women, Life of Maryland Gallery, Baltimore, MD | |
Art In The Era of Aids, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA | Trout Gallery | |
Proof Positive, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD – Curator: Connie Imboden | |
Photography On The Edge, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD – Curator: Douglas Davis | |
Photography 93 New Genres, Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA – Curator: Phillip Brookman | |
Art in Action Invitational, Towson University, Towson, MD | |
Artscape 93, Baltimore, MD | |
1992 | Solo Exhibit, The Pearl Gallery, Richmond, VA |
Critic’s Picks, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
Synchronicity Space, New York, NY | |
Maryland Artists For Choice, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
Body And Soul, Warren Street Gallery, Hudson, NY – Curator: Kiki Smith | |
City Visions, Gallery At Harborplace, Baltimore, MD | |
Altered Images Traveling Photo Exhibit, Bowie State College, Bowie, MD – Curator: Angela Adams, National Museum For Women In The Arts | |
Right Down To The Roots, Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD | |
Women As Protagonist, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD | |
Maryland Artists Series, University Of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, MD | |
Critics Residency Program, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD | |
Aids / Aid Invitational, Bauhaus Gallery, Baltimore, MD | |
Visual Aids, Baltimore Museum Of Contemporary Art | |
1991 | Knight-Gomez Gallery, Baltimore, MD |
Baltimore Artists Exhibit, Bauhaus Gallery, Baltimore, MD | |
Momediano Galería de Arte, Madrid, Spain | |
Out Exhibit, Santa Monica, CA | |
1990 | Annual Juried Exhibit, Fairfax Council Of The Arts, Fairfax, VA – Juror: Phillip Brookman | Corcoran Gallery | Second Place Award |
Sowebo Photography Exhibit, Baltimore, MD | Honorable Mention | |
1990 Juried Exhibit, Howard County Center For The Arts, Maryland – Juror: Brian Wallis, Photo Editor, Art In America Juror’s Award | |
Baltimore Emerging Artists Show, Bauhaus Gallery Baltimore, MD | |
1989 | Sowebo Photography Exhibit, Baltimore, MD |
Artscape 89, Baltimore, MD |
Solo Exhibitions | |
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2017 |
The Memory of Stars Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD |
2005 | Severn Graphics Gallery, Baltimore, MD |
1995 | Arlington Arts Center, Arlington, VA |
Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD | |
1994 | Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE |
School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD | |
1993 | The Pearl Gallery, Richmond, VA |
Reviews
The Baltimore Guide – Artscape Previews | Eric Miller | 7/2001
The Howard County Times – Art Maryland is Farsighted | Mike Guiliano | 11/2000
The Baltimore Guide – Mary Skeen: Photographs To Frighten | Eric Miller | 7/1999
The Baltimore Sun – Artscape Review | John Dorsey | 7/1997
Koan Art Newsletter – Washington DC | “Critic’s Roundtable: Must See” | 12/1995
Washington City Paper, Washington DC | A Site for Sore Eyes | 4/1995
The City Paper, Baltimore, MD – Gallery | Mike Guiliano | 10/1995
The City Paper, Baltimore, MD – Gallery | Mike Guiliano | 4/1994
The City Paper, Baltimore, MD – Paired to Care | Mike Guiliano | 12/1993
The Baltimore Sun – Proof Positive Captures a Good Life… | John Dorsey | 12/1993
The Alternative, Baltimore, MD – Collaboration | R. Grau | 12/1993
The Patriot, Harrisburg, PA – Exhibit Marks World Aids Day | Sandy Cullen | 11/1993
The Baltimore Sun – In Map Exhibit, Only Some Secrets are Worth Repeating | John Dorsey | 9/1993
The Baltimore Sun – Women’s Paintings, Photographs are Studies in Aloneness | John Dorsey | 8/1993
The Washington Post, Washington DC – Galleries | Lee Fleming | 4/1993
The Washington Review, Washington DC – Art Review | Lee Fleming | 10/1992
The Washington Review, Washington DC – Mary Kunaniec Skeen | Katherine Carl | 10/1992
The Baltimore Sun – Picks Are Both Individual & Universal | 7/1992
The Baltimore Sun – Series Show Of Maryland Artists | John Dorsey | 4/1992
The Montgomery County Gazette, Bethesda, MD – Maryland on View | Roberta Morgan | 4/1992
The Baltimore Sun – Goucher Show Examines Womanhood | John Dorsey | 4/1992
The Evening Sun, Baltimore, MD – Diverse Works At Local Galleries | Mike Guiliano | 7/1991
The Baltimore Sun – Art Review | John Dorsey | 7/1991
The City Paper, Baltimore, MD – Shows That Tell | Carol Wood | 12/1990
The Towerlight, Towson MD – Entangling Art from Mary Skeen | 3/1991
The Howard County Times – Lot to See at Art Maryland '90 | Mike Guiliano | 11/90
The Baltimore Sun – Art Review | John Dorsey | 11/1990
The Times, Fairfax, VA – Exhibition of Regional Art | Rich Nahum Arbel | 6/1990
Publications
The Photo Review – Annual Competition 1994
The Photo Review – Annual Competition 1993 | Juror’s Honorable Mention | Juror: Duane Michals
Australian Women’s Forum Cammeray, New South Wales, Australia – Gallery | six page feature story | 9/1992