Artist/Traveler Interview - Meredith Nemirov

Meredith Nemirov is a lover of trees. She grew up in the “the space between these trees and I feel their presence and carry them with me.” She has made it her artist work to focus on trees, from her part time homes in Colorado and also in Spain. Her travels, particularly to Spain and Portugal, have been a critical part of her creative development.

RIVERS FEED THE TREES #469, 13.5” x 17” – Acrylagouache on old topo maps, mounted on wood panel, 2021 Meredith Nemirov

Please tell us about your background - where did you grow up, did you go to art school and where are you based now?

I was born and raised in New York City where I studied at The Art Student’s League and received a BFA from Parson’s School of Design. I moved to SW Colorado in 1988 and have maintained a studio there and part time in Spain.

When did you first realize you were an artist and how did that define your life choices to follow? Were you encouraged by your family/teachers to pursue art?

Both of my parents were artists and very encouraging so I knew at a very young age that I wanted to spend my life as an artist. I limited my involvement in other activities that would take a lot of my time and devoted myself to drawing and painting.

Entangled Two, 2020, watercolor, gouache and ink, 11” x 28” Meredith Nemirov

Tell us about the work you do and how it has evolved to this point. What is your medium etc.

I was a figurative artist in NYC. After I moved to the Rocky Mountains I felt compelled to focus on the landscape. I painted the mountains but was looking for a figure and found it in the form of the aspen tree. For twelve years after we moved West we had a gallery that specialized in the prints, maps and books about the exploration of the American west. I was drawn to the topographical maps in the Haydn Survey and USGS Surveys because of their abstract quality, the linear and patterned aspects of them. These lines and various patterns made their way into the work and onto the images of the trees. This led to a recent series title RIVERS FEED THE TREES in which I am painting the trees onto the old maps using Acrylagouache.

Why travel as an artist? How does it shape your work and lifestyle?

The Black Paintings by Goya at El Prado in Madrid, Agnes Martin and Hilma Af Klint at the Guggenheim and Cezanne’s drawings at MOMA in New York City, this is a big reason I travel to cities, to look at the work of artists I have admired and to discover and learn about ones whose work I am not that familiar with. If I cannot go I will buy the catalog of the exhibition.

Entangled Three, 2020, watercolor, gouache and ink, 11” x 28” Meredith Nemirov

The title of the book by Lawrence Wechsler about the California artist Robert Irwin is “SEEING IS FORGETTING THE NAME OF THE THING ONE SEES” hints at the other reason for traveling to a foreign place. I think when you are traveling in a country where your native language is not spoken you start to see things from a different and new perspective. I love the anonymity of traveling and the way it can provide that observer’s point of view more easily. As an observational visual artist I want to record, through drawing and painting, the new landscapes and situations I find myself in. Then back home in the studio the time spent in observing through drawing creates memories that are more complex.

Tell us about your art work - what is the core of your expression?

In my work I am attempting to express an idea, something I’ve been thinking about for awhile and it’s usually something not seen or invisible to the human eye. I know that sounds contradictory because I describe myself as an observational or perceptual artist who paints what they see. In my on-site paintings I am trying the capture the experience of the moment which includes weather, light, movement and how I am reacting to what I am looking at. The ideas for my work in the studio are related to what I have observed, for example my series titled BLOWDOWN which is about the mycorrhizal network below the forest floor.

The end result is two bodies of work, on-site plein air landscapes and more abstracted studio works.

RIVERS FEED THE TREES #465, 13.5” x 17” – Acrylagouache on old topo maps, mounted on wood panel, 2021 Meredith Nemirov

What is your preferred medium and why?

I love working on paper and have worked with watercolor for many years. Recently I have been adding Acrylagouache, charcoal, ink and graphite to achieve different levels of transparency and opacity and also a variety of textures.

How has working during the COVID-19 pandemic changed your process and work?

From March 13, 2020, when the COVID was declared a world wide pandemic until after election day in 2020 it was hard to concentrate in the studio. We had to cancel, refund (from her workshops) and worry about our family friends in some of the virus hotspots, so I found myself spending more time staying in touch with people. When I was in the studio I would work on smaller pieces and spend time looking at older work.

Are you able to support yourself entirely from your art work or do you supplement with other jobs - teaching etc?

I have taught for the past thirty years but on my own schedule and part time. I am not a certified public school full time teacher. I have been a migrant worker teaching at art centers and schools all over the state of CO and for ten years at the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico and five years in Mallorca, Spain.

Blowdown Four, 2018, watercolor, gouache, ink, 2018 Meredith Nemirov

Have there been challenges in your career/practice and if so, how did you overcome them?

I have had to fight against the label of local artist. Have you heard the expression that the expert is the person with a suitcase, in other words from out of the area? So I stopped showing in local or any juried group shows, partly because I didn’t want to be seen competing with my students, and started looking for representation and exhibition opportunities outside my immediate area.

Do you currently have representation with a gallery, or other shows coming up?

My work is represented by three galleries, Mixx Projects + Atelier in Telluride, Oh Be Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte and Michael Warren Contemporary in Denver.

Have you been to artists residencies, which ones, and why? How did they shape your work?

I was at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center for eight weeks in 2008, the Vermont Studio Center for a month in 2010 and Cortex Frontal in Portugal in 2018. It is a great opportunity to really focus on your work, either creating a new body of work but also can be a time to be with the process without producing finished work. I also liked meeting other artists from other parts of the world since I live in a more remote isolated area. Usually the experience of a residency provides inspiration and fuel for my studio work for many months afterwards.

What do you like about residencies and anything you want to share about some of your experiences with our readers? Highlights, lowlights? Advice

Every residency has a different setup. I LOVED that I didn’t have to cook! I LOVED conversation with other artists over meals together. I LOVED living in a community of like minded people. On a more practical note, artists I have met have signed up for my workshops and I even found a roommate for my son in NYC! My advice would be to make sure you know what you are looking for and find the right fit for your needs. Some artists look for community, some for more isolation. Some places charge what seems like a high price but there are usually scholarships or work/study programs and I have always felt it was very worthwhile.

How important has social media been to your career and in what way? Are there other ways you promote your work?

Social media is somewhat important but I still find the more personal approach is not to be left behind. A personal email speaks louder and can lead to a bigger conversation about ideas or even possible commissions. I leave a lot of the promotion to my galleries.

Any final thoughts you want to share with us about being an artist/traveler? Any advice you’d like to pass on to others?

Looking through my sketchbooks filled with drawings from my travels bring those days and memories to life so much more vividly than photos taken with an iPhone. I never intended for those drawings to be studies for larger more finished works but they have become indispensable in that way.

RIVERS FEED THE TREES #456, 13.5” x 17” – Acrylagouache on old topo maps, mounted on wood panel, 2021 Meredith Nemirov

What’s next for you, both with art and travel?

After cancelling the last two years of our April workshops in Mallorca we are going back to Spain on August 24th. I just postponed, again, my residency in Ireland until next September, 2022. It seemed like the right decision for now and they agreed. We just sold our house and are looking to spend more time in Spain so we will be researching areas and options and will be traveling for two months.

I am now showing the works from my latest series RIVERS FEED THE TREES at my three galleries this summer.

You can see Meredith’s work at:
https://meredithnemirov.com/
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meredith.nemirov/

* * *

And If you want more information on artist residencies, check out my online course HERE: