ABOUT
Celia Crane (b. 1977) is a collage artist, writer and independent curator who left her decades-long marketing career in 2019 to concentrate on creative work. In April 2020, she created Vayo, the first dedicated collage gallery in Rochester, New York. Since then she has collaborated with hundreds of collage artists from around the world to expand the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the collage medium. Obsessed with the materiality of scraps, Crane creates collages from the vast supply of printed material and ephemera amassed over her lifetime of collecting.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Like a cicada, I was hibernating undetected for many years. Ground temperatures and the tymbal song of cicada's potential mates trigger their emergence from underground to fulfill their purpose. In my case, collage provided the psychological stimulus for awakening and it became clear that art making is the mechanism through which I was born to evolve. Cicadas rise up over a two week period after soil temperatures have reached 65˚ Fahrenheit, but it took me two years to arrive at a grasp for what my scissor-wings were for. My art practice remains highly experimental and largely unpremeditated. I source imagery from a wide variety of relics and domestically-foraged ephemera such as food wrappers, discard books and instruction manuals. Though the bulk of what I make is still hand cut and 2-dimensional, I have a growing preoccupation with dimensional collage constructions, which I build from castoff toys, broken things and other found objects with untold histories. I spend a great deal of time sorting and handling these materials, examining them from different angles and moods so I feel intimately acquainted with the essential nature of each element before anything is done with it. I feel successful when I emerge from a new wave of trial and error with fresh information. If an interesting art object also results, that is simply a bonus. Recurring themes in my collages include identity crisis, the ills of society, the search for satori, and the insufferable cling of traumatic memory. As I evolve, the work will undoubtedly lead the way and I will be as surprised as anyone.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Celia Crane. High Tide of Many Moons. 2020, Analog collage. Private collection.
Celia Crane, 2020 – Vayo Collage Gallery
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
Exhibitions
2021
67th Annual Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition (RFLX)
Memorial Art Gallery, Aug 15–Oct 17, 2021 - Rochester, NY USA
(Juror: Amanda Chesnut, Rochester, NY)
Hope, a virtual collage exhibition
Fragmented Collage Collective, Glasgow, UK - (virtual) catalogue
(Curator: John Hutton)
Compression, an international curated collage exhibition
Vayo Collage Gallery, May 8–31, 2021 - Rochester, NY, USA
Международная уличная выставка, an international group exhibition of collage
Это Тоже Выставка, May 8–31, 2021 - Moscow, Russia
Sint-Amandsberg Knipt, an international group exhibition of collage
Bibliotheek De Krook, May 8–31, 2021 - Gent, Belgium
(Curator: Ria Bauwens)
TELEPHONE, an international ekphrastic art exhibition
Phonebook Gallery, April 15, 2021 (virtual) - catalogue
6x6x21, an international group exhibition
RoCo Art Center, Jun 15–Jul 18, 2021 - Rochester, NY, USA
Parallel Dimensions, a juried group collage exhibition
Collage Artists of America (CAA), Feb 1–28, 2021 - San Fernando, CA, USA (virtual) - catalogue
Identity, an international juried mult-media art exhibition
The Holy Art Gallery, Jan 29–Feb 7, 2021 - London, UK (virtual) - catalogue
2020
Garden within the Garden, an international curated collage exhibition
Vayo Collage Gallery, May 8–Jun 30, 2021 - Rochester, NY, USA
6x6x20, an international group exhibition
RoCo Art Center, Jun 6–Jul 12, 2021 - Rochester, NY, USA
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2021
Arizona Collage Collective. (2021). Transitional Moments: restoring equilibrium through the art of collage.
Maison Kasini Canada in conjunction with Kolaj Institute.
Contemporary Collage Magazine, Issue 03. (pp. 70–71, 132–133).
Cut Me Up magazine, Issue 7: Solve et Coagula, Summer 2021.
Katrina Slavik. "Artist Portfolio." Kolaj Magazine, Issue #33, 2021. (pp. 54–57).
Laurie Kanyer. Collage Care: Transforming Emotions and Life Experiences with Collage. Yakima, WA: Kanyer Publishing, 2021.
Petra Zehner. “Week 11/2020.” Paris Collage Collective Yearbook. Paris Collage Collective, 2021. (p. 13).
Exhibition Highlights ebook: Celebrating Analogue, Digital & Mixed Media Collage. Glasgow: Fragmented Collective, 2021. https://www.fragmentedcollective.com/shop/p/hope-exhibition-highlights-ebook. ( p. 8).
TELEPHONE: Visual Art, 143. New York: Crosstown Press, 2021. (p. 143).
2020
Hınç, Issue 05: November 2020. Turkey: Hınç Dergi. (pp. 57–58).
Kelly Schaub. Art Doesn't Have to Match Your Sofa, Volume 3. Collage Lab, 2020. (pp. 16–17).
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
SELECTED publications
2021
Celia Crane. "Phone-A-Friend.” Kolaj Magazine, Issue #32, 2021. (pp. 8-11).
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
Collections
Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
Curatorial Projects
2021
Compression: Collage in the Time of Quarantine, Vayo Collage Gallery, Rochester, NY
2020
Garden Within the Garden, Vayo Collage Gallery, Rochester, NY
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
RESIDENCIES & TRAINING
2021
Collage as Street Art
Artist Residency, Kolaj Institute
2020
Curating Collage
Artist Workshop, Kolaj Institute
Celia Crane. It's Hard to See the Picture When You're Inside the Frame. 2020, Analog collage. Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, Yakima, WA
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
“ARTISTS ARE PEOPLE DRIVEN BY THE TENSION BETWEEN THE
DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE AND THE DESIRE TO HIDE."
DONALD WOODS WINNICOTT