Michele Natale

Artist’s Statement

"Illuminations" references medieval miniatures as well as the
exhilarating Rimbaud prose poems filled with arresting imagery. Little
insights, small gestures, flashes of everyday happening, painted haiku,
Books of Hours for modern times unfold around the constant theme of woman.

Vivid color and glitter sprinkles on small paintings nod to the flower
power pop of my childhood. The raku works, votive, meditative in intent, endure exposure to direct flame to achieve jewel-like or organic finishes.
Mixed media pieces combine my interest in fiber arts and diverse materials and the inspirations and treasures of daily walks in the woods with my dog, Bear.

Michele Richards Natale

501 Laurel Hill Road
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514
(919) 932.3251


Education:

B.F.A. with Honors, Studio Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 1983

Grants:

U.N.C. - C.H. Public Fellow, 2001 - 2002
Emerging Artist Grant, City of Raleigh Arts Council, 1990

Awards:            

Merit Award, 16th Annual Raleigh Fine Arts Society\

Artists' Exhibition, Meredith College Rotunda Gallery, Raleigh, N.C., 1994

Merit Award, Durham Art Guild Annual Juried Show, November 1985

First Place, 2-D Art, Artsplosure, Raleigh, N.C., May 1985

Honorable Mention, Center/Gallery Juried Arts Competition, Carrboro, N.C., 1985

Best in Show, Center/Gallery Juried Arts Competition, April 1984

Kachergis Award for Undergraduate Painting, UNC-CH, Spring 1983


One Person Exhibitions:

Durham Art Guild, April1 - May 9, 2004 Durham Arts Council, Durham, N.C.

"Shrines," N.C. Crafts Gallery, Carrboro, N.C., January 2002

Installation, Hillsborough Artists Co-op, Hillsborough, N.C., October 2001

"Drawn to a Flame," N.C. Crafts Gallery, January 2001

"A Season of Love in the Ruins" & "Transformations," Orange
         County Historical Museum, Hillsborough, N.C., September 2000

"Transformations," Allenton Gallery, Durham Arts Council, Durham, N.C., July 2000

"Gifts of Fire," N.C. Crafts Gallery, January, 2000

"Little Goddesses," N.C. Crafts Gallery, January 1999

"Threshold," Horace Williams House,Chapel Hill, N.C., January 1995

"The Santa Fe Drawings," The Paper Plant, Raleigh, N.C., November 1990

Durham Art Guild, Durham, N.C., March 1988

The Paper Plant, Raleigh, N.C., December 1987

"Spirit Houses," Community Church, Chapel Hill, N.C., July 1985

"Energies of Light," Hanes Art Center Gallery, UNC-CH, July 1985

"Ikonos," Center/Gallery, Carrboro, N.C., January 1985

Solo Exhibition, Center/Gallery, June 1982

Selected Group Exhibitions:

Two-Person show at Horace Williams House,             August 22 - September 22, 2004

"Art/Spirit/Art," Johnson Center for Undergraduate
Excellence, UNC-CH, September 2002

Durham Art Guild Invitational, Durham, N.C., May 2001

Group Show, Durham Art Guild, March, 2001

"Through Women's Eyes," Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Chapel Hill,
N.C.,UNC- CH, 2001, 1997, and The Women's Center's Henderson
Street House, Chapel Hill, 1992

"Winter Show," Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art,
Greensboro, N.C., December 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999

"Natural and Healing Arts," Blackwood Station Gallery, Chapel
Hill, N.C., June 2000

"The New Show," Wake Visual Arts Association, Raleigh, N.C., October 1991

"Rising to the Surface," Artspace, Raleigh, N.C., July 1991

Four-Person Show at Gilliam and Peden Art Gallery, Raleigh, N.C., 1989

Durham Art Guild Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Durham, N.C.
November 2003, November 2002, November 2001, November
1999, November 1997, November1993, January 1989,
December 1986, November 1985

Raleigh Fine Arts Society Annual Artists' Exhibition, Rotunda
Gallery, Meredith College, Raleigh, N.C., 1994, 1990, 1989,
1988, 1986

Wake Visual Arts Association Annual Juried Competition,
Raleigh, N.C., 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987

North Carolina Artists Exhibition, North Carolina Museum of
Art, Raleigh, North Carolina, April 1984

"Alternative Devotional Objects," Somerhill Gallery, Durham,
N.C., August 1983

UNC Undergraduate Juried Art Show, Ackland Art Museum,
Chapel Hill, N.C., 1982, 1981

Gallery Representation:

New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, N.C., since 2002

Gallery C, Raleigh, N.C., 2001-2004

Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, Sales Gallery,
Greensboro, N.C., since 1999

N.C. Crafts Gallery, Carrboro, N.C., 1999 - 2002

Marita Gilliam Gallery, Raleigh, N.C., 1993 - 1997

Peden Gallery II, Raleigh, N.C., 1990 - 1993

Marita Gilliam Gallery, Raleigh, N.C. 1989 -1990

Gilliam and Peden Art Gallery, Raleigh, N.C. 1988-1989

Professional Affiliations:

Lucy Daniels Foundation, Board Member, 2005 - present

Durham Art Guild, Durham, N.C., Member, 1985 - present

Wake Visual Arts Association, Raleigh, N.C., Member 1985 - 1989

Center/Gallery, Carrboro, N.C., Member, 1982 - 1985

Related Experience:

Art correspondent, The News and Observer, Raleigh, N.C.,
August 2004 - present

Contributor, Art Papers, January/February issue, March/April issue, 2005

Art Reviewer for the Independent magazine, 2002

Art Reviewer for Spectator magazine, Raleigh, N.C., weekly
columnist, September 1997- November 2000

Curated "The Absent Body, The Ties That Bind," a Critic's Choice
show for Duke University Museum of Art, April 1999

"A Samurai's Tale: The Art of Kent Williams," Juxtapoz magazine,
Spring, 1998

Curated show of Orange County 1996 NCAE Artists for Chapel Hill
Public Arts Commission, October, 1996

Curated "Elemental Structures" for Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, May 1996

Art Reviewer for the Chapel Hill News, September 1995 - September 1997

Art Reviewer for The Independent, 1986-1987