ABOUT
Frances Phillips is a mixed media artist living in the Minneapolis area. Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, she received a BFA from St. Mary’s College, South Bend, IN in 1989. After graduating, Frances moved to Chicago and worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Landfall Press. Relocating to New York City with her husband in the mid 90s, she became an active member of the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition (BWAC) and participated in several group exhibitions that BWAC sponsored.
Frances took a long hiatus from making art to focus on raising four children with her husband, and has been residing in Minnesota with her family for close to twenty years. In the past couple of years, Frances has returned to her art practice full time.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have loved making things since I was very young. I loved to draw pictures, to paint, to color, to cut and paste and create something new and original. Receiving a brand new box of 64 Crayola crayons was a delight, seeing the array of colors with names new to me, neatly lined up together. I would look for anything in our house that I could draw on or use to create something. I created elaborate homes for my Barbies: inside an old Coca-Cola cooler, in cardboard boxes, or any empty container I found in our home.
Very shy as a child, creating art became a form of self expression and an outlet for my creativity that did not require me to be exposed to the outside world. It felt comfortable to express myself in this private and quiet way.
My childhood home was filled with beautiful colors, patterns and textures whether it was in the wallpaper, rugs, upholstery, clothing, tablecloths and napkins, pictures on the wall or in beautiful illustrated books. These memories have served as inspiration for my work. I am also inspired by the beauty of the natural world around me. Residing in the west suburbs of Minneapolis for the past 20 years, I am surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Minnesota. Over the years, my family has spent many summers traveling through the farmlands of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois on our visits to relatives. I never tire of the beauty of colors, pattern and texture in the landscape, and I love the change in seasons and the beauty unique to each one.
These images find their way into my work as I juxtapose my interpretation of the natural world with the beauty of color, pattern and texture that is man-made. I bring together these two different aesthetics in my pieces; those created by God and those of man’s own efforts.
Color plays a central role in my pieces, and I can manipulate the color in new ways and create unknown places for the viewer to step in to. There is a beauty and balance presented to the viewer in the complementary nature of these aesthetics. I want the viewer to be drawn in to take a closer look at the details within each piece and to experience a sense of peace, strength, wonder and beauty.
