Gregory Euclide makes landscape art using various kind of material. Pinecones, melted snow, paper and paint are just some of the pieces he takes to assemble the impressive collages/installations that show how transformational the natural force is. This Minnesotian artist custom made the album cover for the singer-songwriter Bon Iver and complemented the musician’s vision in a gorgeous organic style. The album cover is made of styrofoam and cut open to show the original composition. The idea is to make the origin material visible, to get to the depth of the structure. When making art, Euclide incorporates the traditional idea of the landscape aesthetics with the raw and untreated material, so sometimes there are even pieces of garbage in his works – the same scenery one could find in someone’s backyard.
The artist holds an MA degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minnesota (2008), and a BA in studio art from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin (1997). He is also a holder of secondary art education degree. Growing up and living in Wisconsin influenced his artistic aspirations since the early age. Almost all of his art lacks human form but contains many man-made products. When people admire intact landscapes they find peace and contentment in the fact that there are no human interactions, but what they forget is the actuality that man leaves his mark everywhere. The solitude brings tranquillity but what we perceive in the physical world is always just one part of the mutual relation in which man coexist with nature. Without trying too hard, or trying at all, he manages to avoid any attempt at defining his art. The theme is life and the transformation of it, and everything that comes with it.
Birth and death as the natural cycles of life are the starting and ending points in Euclide’s creations. Between them comes all the mystery of conception, creation and living. Decay and rotten organic elements are being mixed with painted scenes on paper and then they are ripped apart. The three-dimensional moment gives the viewer a chance to peek into the artist’s vision and to experience the landscape in more reliable form. Euclide’s holistic approach unites the representation of the idea behind art, with the original scenery, the idea came from. If there are trees in the picture, he will use the pinecones from that place, if the theme is transformation, he will use melted snow instead of water. This originality transfers the sentiment and the contemplation to the viewer and it is impossible to stay indifferent when facing such a creation.
When he teaches students he tends to show them how originality is not subdued in trying to be different than everyone else. Originality comes from being true and honest, being yourself. That philosophy deeply reflects his art. Not very fond of reproductions, he puts his heart and soul into everything he makes. He used tools he could find in the classroom and with black markers, ink and board erasers he made illustrations during the lunch breaks. By doing this, he wanted, not just to relax, but to show his students firsthand that time is nothing but the measure we invented and that original expression has no limits. After completing the work, Euclide erased the board, but took some photographs previously and that is how his 2012 series Laid Down & Wiped Away was made. The moral of the story is to appreciate the original, the spur of the moment, the limited time we all have in this world, and to squeeze in some inventiveness here and there.
Euclide’s landscapes are always about something else than just nature. In the tradition of painting landscapes, there is sometimes the intent to appeal to popular taste, but for this artist the intent is to make the audience taste the nature, experience it firsthand. Moss, rocks, paint, paper, wood, fern, and acrylics are just some of the material he uses to make his earthly and fresh, but also decayed Otherwordly installations. His miniature urban landscapes raise awareness of how human interaction affects the outer world. It is important to feel like a teleological integral part of nature and never to underestimate how significant is to give back to it and stay away from pollution and destruction. When he is not teaching in high school, or working in his studio, this artist spends every available moment outdoors, in the woods, in the snow, soaking in the sunshine, listening to music and embracing the freedom of country living.
The artist is represented by Spoke Art Gallery.
All images and videos © Gregory Euclide
Featured image – Gregory Euclide Headshot, photo credits Memphis College of Art
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Gregory Euclide | Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco | Solo |
2016 | Earth Day | Form + Content Gallery,Minneapolis | Group |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, SD | Solo |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver, CO | Solo |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | Washington Pavilion Visual Arts Center, Sioux Falls, SD | Solo |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | Miami Project, Hashimoto Gallery | Group |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | Art Miami-Context, Fifty24MX Gallery | Group |
2015 | Gregory Euclide | Paper Cut, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2014 | Gregory Euclide | The Nature of Nature, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2014 | Gregory Euclide | Minnesota Biennial, Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN | Group |
2013 | Gregory Euclide | StolenSpace Gallery, London, UK | Solo |
2013 | Gregory Euclide | Martha Otero Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2013 | Gregory Euclide | After I omit the taking in my posture seeing become the new way of owing, Progress Gallery, Paris, France | Solo |
2013 | Wish You Were There? | Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA | Group |
2013 | American Painting Today: Physical & Visceral | Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI | Group |
2013 | Beyond Natural | University of North Texas, Denton, TX | Group |
2013 | Second Nature | Broward College, Davie, FL | Group |
2013 | Journey Forth | Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2013 | Flatlanders & Surface Dwellers, | 516 Arts, Albuquerque, NM | Group |
2013 | 10 Year Anniversary | White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2013 | Blurring Dimensions | Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN | Group |
2013 | Wider Than A Postcard | Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2013 | Cartographer’s Delight | Hellion Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2013 | Influence | Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver, CO | Group |
2012 | Gregory Euclide | David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO | Solo |
2012 | Gregory Euclide | Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV | Solo |
2012 | Beyond The Parking Lot | Artisphere, Arlington, VA | Group |
2012 | Otherworldly Optical Delusions and Small Realities | Lille 3000, Lille, France | Group |
2012 | Jerome Emerging Artist Fellowship Show | Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2012 | In the Field: Artists from Greater Minnesota | Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2012 | Open Studios Midwestern Competition Vol. 101, New American Paintings | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN | Group |
2011 | Gregory Euclide | David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO | Solo |
2011 | Otherworldly | Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY | Group |
2011 | Small Worlds | Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH | Group |
2011 | Deconstructing Nature | Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ | Group |
2011 | Middle States | Anderson Gallery, Drake University, Des Moines, IA | Group |
2011 | Pure Paper | Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2011 | Habitat | Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO | Group |
2011 | Specific Environments: Landscape as Metaphor | Lincoln Center Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO | Group |
2011 | PULSE Art Fair Los Angeles | David B. Smith Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2011 | PULSE Art Fair Miami | David B. Smith Gallery, Miami, FL | Group |
2011 | PULSE Art Fair New York | David B. Smith Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2010 | Gregory Euclide | IMPULSE, PULSE Art Fair Miami, David B. Smith Gallery, Miami, FL | Solo |
2010 | Gregory Euclide | Real, Natural, Unsustainable, The Joseph Gross Gallery, The University of Arizona –Tucson, Tucson, AZ | Solo |
2010 | Gregory Euclide | What Was Still In the Pause of My Advance, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2010 | Gregory Euclide | Making Paintings About Nature’s Making, Conkling Gallery, Mankato State University, Mankato, MN | Solo |
2010 | The Nature of Things | Biennial of the Americas, Denver, CO | Group |
2010 | Refresh | Christina Ray, New York, NY | Group |
2010 | SCOPE Art Fair New York | David B. Smith Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2010 | David B. Smith Group Exhibition, Part 1 | David B. Smith, Denver, CO | Group |
2010 | Who Killed The Music | Grammy Awards, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2009 | Gregory Euclide | David B. Smith Gallery, Denver, CO | Solo |
2009 | Shaped | Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH | Group |
2009 | SCOPE Art Fair Miami | David B. Smith Gallery, Miami, FL | Group |
2009 | Regime Change | Swarm Gallery, Oakland, CA | Group |
2009 | Open Studios Midwestern Competition Vol. 83, New American Paintings | Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL | Group |
2009 | Studio Visit Magazine Vol. 5 - The Open Studios Press | Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College | Group |
2009 | SCOPE Art Fair New York | David B. Smith Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2009 | You, Me, and Everyone We Know | Alphonse Berber Gallery, Berkeley, CA | Group |
2009 | New Landscapes | Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2009 | David B. Smith Group Exhibition, Part 1 | David B. Smith, Denver, CO | Group |
2009 | Selections from the International Drawing Annual | Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH | Group |
2008 | Gregory Euclide | This is How I Have Been Moving Through It, Gage Family Art Gallery, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN | Solo |
2008 | Gregory Euclide | Limited Addiction Gallery, Denver, CO | Solo |
2008 | 58th Arrowhead Biennial | Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN | Group |
2008 | Studio Visit Magazine Vol. 4, The Open Studios Press | International Sculpture Center and the Microsoft Collection | Group |
2008 | Studio Visit Magazine Vol. 3, The Open Studios Press | The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University | Group |
2008 | North of the 45th | DeVos Art Museum, MI | Group |
2008 | Open Door 4 | Rosalux Gallery, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2008 | Made at MCAD | Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2008 | 37th Annual Americas 2008: Paperworks Exhibition | Northwest Art Center, Minot, ND | Group |
2008 | Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape | MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA | Group |
2008 | The Woolworth Windows | Tacoma Contemporary, Tacoma, WA | Group |
2008 | Sublime Landscape | Project 4 Gallery, Washington DC | Group |
2008 | Landscape, Nature and Space | Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2008 | MFA Thesis Exhibition: MCAD | Soo Visual Art Center, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2008 | 365 | 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2008 | Aqua Art Miami Wynwood | David B. Smith Gallery, Miami, FL | Group |
2008 | Red Dot Fair New York | Limited Addiction Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2007 | The Walks I Take Turn To Paper, BLK | MRKT Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2007 | Gregory Euclide | I Have Been Remembering: Half-Lives & Half-Truths, OKOK Gallery, Seattle, WA | Solo |
2007 | Open Studios Midwestern Competition Vol. 71 | New American Paintings | Group |
2007 | The 31st Bradley International Print And Drawing Exhibition | Bradley University, Peoria, IL | Group |
2007 | Drawn Out, Torn & Needing More | The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI | Group |
2007 | Free Parking | OKOK Gallery, Seattle, WA | Group |
2007 | BMG Artist’s Annual | BLK MRKT Gallery, Los Angles, CA | Group |
2007 | Get started | The Chambers Burnet Art Gallery, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2007 | Aqua Art Miami | Limited Addiction Gallery, Miami, FL | Group |
2006 | Works On Paper | White Walls Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2006 | Spatial Flow | Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, MN | Group |
2006 | The Group Show | Silas Marder Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY | Group |
2005 | Minnesota Biennial 2D II | Minnesota Museum of American Art, St Paul, MN | Group |
2005 | Curator | Minnesota Museum of American Art | Group |
2005 | Untitled 4 | Soo Visual Art Center, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2005 | New Work | Thomas Barry Fine Arts, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2005 | City Seen | Minneapolis Foundation, Minneapolis, MN | Group |