Doré Bodenheimer's Biography

Doré K BODENHEIMER, M.A. (1934-2008)

ART-PLACE
221 CHILVERTON
SANTA CRUZ, 95062

ASSEMBLAGE, PAINTING, CLAY
CLAY HISTORIAN/ART EDUCATOR


Education:
B S in Education (Art/Crafts)
Illinois State University
M A in Design (Craft/History)
University of California Berkeley
Assemblage workshops, Santa Cruz Art League
(Will Marino, Inez Storer, Phoebe Fisher)

Recent Solo ASSEMBLAGE Shows:
* Style in Structure (Adams State College, Alamosa CO; Sept-Oct/06)
* Echoes: Assemblages (Napa Valley College, Napa CA; Nov/05)
* Moments of Memory (College of Sequoias, Visalia CA; Oct/05)
* Chance Expectations (College of Siskiyous, Weed CA; Sept-Oct/05)
* Protective Visions (YWCA Women's Ctr, Berkeley CA; Jan-Feb/05)
* Shoreline Footprints (Pacific Grove Art Ctr, CA; July-Aug/04)
* Diverse Discoveries (Maturango M, Ridgecrest CA; Jan-Mar/04)
* In Search of Spirit (Gallery '76, Wenatchee WA; Feb-Mar/03)
* Poetic Adventures (Merced CA College Art Gallery; Jan-Feb/03)
* Heart Songs: Its About Magic (Marty Magic Gallery, Santa Cruz CA; Feb/01)
* Exposed Harmonies (Atelier Gallery, Santa Cruz CA; Sum/99)
* Shadow Harmonies (Rogue College, Grants Pass OR; Spr/99)
* Transformations (Chemeketa College, Salem OR; Spr/99)
* Fragments of the Caravan (Truckee Meadows, Reno NV; Spr/99)
* Pieced Together (Sinclair College, Dayton OH; Fall/98)
* Elemental Joys Eleven East Ashland Gallery, Phoenix AZ; Sum/98)
* Happy Trails: Assemblages (Dancing Man Gallery, Santa Cruz CA; Spr/98)
* Open Studio Assemblages (Art-Place Studio, Santa Cruz CA; Fall/96-99, 01-06)

Recent Juried Exhibitions:
* The Triangle of Life (Mountain Art Center, Ben Lomond CA; Sept/06)
* Statewide 1999, 2002 - 2006 (SCAL) Awards '05 & '06
* Abstract Expressions (Danville CA Fine Arts Gallery; Jan/03) Merit Award
* Portraits to Ponder (Danville CA Fine Arts Gallery; Spr/02)
* Collage/Montage/Assemblage (Stage Gallery, NY; Jan/03) Intl Competition
* Recycled Art (Sun Gallery, Hayward CA; Aug/02)
* 20th Annual Small Works Exhibit (Schoharie NY Co Arts Council, Spr/02)
* Collage/Assemblage/USA (Ventura College CA, Feb/01)
* Sculpture/Collage/Mixed Media Exhibit (Long Beach Arts CA; Sept/00)
* Arts on Fire (Sanchez Art Ctr, Pacifica CA; Feb/00)
* Millenium Show-cash award (SCAL; Dec/99)
* Contemporary Realism (Sam Houston St U, Huntsville TX; Spr/99)
* SoHo Intl, Sum/97 (Agora Gallery, NYC)
* Journey Into Wholeness (Ctr for Visual Arts, Oakland CA; 1997)
* Recycled 1997 (Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley CA)

Recent Group Shows
* Petite Treasures (MichaelAngelo Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA; Aug/06)
* Recycled Art Show (Nido Gallery, Moss Landing CA; Oct/04)
* Technology Creates (Danville CA Fine Arts Gallery; Feb/03)
* Ocean Project Artists (Huntington Beach CA Gallery; Fall/02)
* Ocean Project Artists (Atelier Gallery, Santa Cruz; Fall/98)
* Assemblages (Art League Celebration; Fall/96)
* Looking In-Looking Out (Women's Caucus/Louden Nelson Center, Santa Cruz)
* A Circle of Friends, 9/94 (Primal Vision Gallery, Santa Cruz)
* Making Women Artists Visible (Gallerie Tonantzin, SJ Bautista CA)

Veteran participant in Open Studios (Santa Cruz Cultural Council); Hearts for Art
(SC Cultural Council); Luck of the Draw (Santa Cruz Art League);
and "Stars"/ "Tinsel & Trimmings" (Art Museum of Santa Cruz Co)

Artist's Statement:
My extensive study of design (including an MA in Design) has led me to an art form which uses 3-dimensional, pre-formed objects as the basic art elements. This is similar to the use of pigment for the art of painting, or words and phrases for the art of poetry.

Assemblage is, for me, the arranged design of uniquely interesting elements. I am intrigued by tangles of fiber, weathered wood, broken glass, circular objects and crushed metal. Customs officials & airport inspectors at many borders have argued with me concerning my collections: rusted bedsprings from London, pottery shards from Osaka, frayed rope from Veracruz, metal scraps from Bangkok. To these I have added wave-burnished materials found on our ever-replenished beaches.

I am always looking at form. The elegance of simple objects such as tools and machinery, taken out of context, amazes me. Whatever the object I select, it changes in the process of serving me as a design element. You will notice repeated themes of marbles, bones and grids: marbles for their perfect round form and translucency; bones for their graceful structure and color--bleached or unbleached; grids for the concealment and revealing effect of windows/veils--as both barrier and invitation.

These assemblages are concerned with my contemplation of forms and their reassignment, via pattern, balance and color, into creative artworks/ environments. I hope you may find these works evocative of places, thoughts and feelings...both familiar and fantastic.