BURREN COLLEGE OF ART@126
MFA GRADUATES SHOW
May 3rd - May 31st 2013
126 is delighted to present work by John Freeman and Jill Miller, Burren College of Art MFA Graduates 2013.
Freeman's focus is on interrogating the cultural binary views of gender identity. His work addresses
Carl Gustav Jung’s idea of the anima (the feminine component of the male psyche) and it’s archetypes.
He attempts to separate the feminine psyche from the masculine, externalizing her through performance,
video and sculpture. He takes on alter-egos and works towards achieving the masculine potential,
by investigating archetypal feminine identities.
Miller's paintings represent an autobiographical understanding of emotional reactions, specifically in relation
to experiences of anxiety and fear. They investigate the idea of liminality as a metaphorical state, hovering
between spaces, how this place of transition exists in physical body language. Liminality is defined as
“relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process, occupying a position at, or on both sides
of a boundary or threshold”. In these works, physical liminal space is expressed within the environment
surrounding the figure, which enforces the fragility of the context. Bringing the idea of a constant state of
fear-based anxiety into physical, cohesive visual representation through paint.
John Freeman was born in Greenwich Village, New York, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at
Eckerd College in 2011, with a concentration on ceramics and installation. He currently works predominantly in the
mediums of video and multimedia installation. He has participated in group exhibitions in St. Petersburg Florida
at the Rhino Gallery, Artpool, and the Ransom Gallery, as well around Ireland at Gallery 126, the Iniscealtra Arts
festival, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center, and the Burren College of Art. He was awarded a solo opportunity to
open the New Cobb Gallery at Eckerd College. He lives, works, and studies in Ballyvaughan.
Jill Miller received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from the University of
Michigan and continued at a graduate level with painting, drawing and printmaking courses at Ox-Bow
School for the Arts through The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited at the Burren College of
Art Gallery, Gallery 126, and The Courthouse Gallery (Ennistymon).
In 2012 she completed a residency at the Royal Hibernian Academy in
Dublin.
Freeman and Miller along with fellow BCA PHD student Elizabeth Matthews, formed the collective Poll na bPeist,
currently working out of the graduate studios of the Burren College of Art.
Burren College of Art is an internationally recognised
not-for-profit independent college specialising in undergraduate and
graduate fine art education. It offers artists and art students from
around the world time, space and inspiration within the unique
environment of the Burren. Their graduate PhG, MFA, MA and PG Diploma
programmes are accredited by the National University of Ireland , Galway
and are operated in association with the Royal College of Art, London
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. To date, the core of the
Burren experience has been the education of artists, with ecology, law,
archaeology, business, leadership and other subjects as background
elements.
