Florida Artists Group

Artist Statement:

"Inspiration"

I find inspiration in everyday items without any obvious relationship to art. There are interesting components, color combinations and compositions everywhere. However, my primary inspiration comes from nature, not so much in the traditional sense of landscape, but rather from fragments and layers which give vibrancy to nature. In my artwork I use layers of inks and acrylics, silver leaf and resin to create vibrancy and depth in my own emotional interpretation of nature.

"Cycles of Nature Series"

Over the last year I have been working on a"Cycle of Nature" series. Nature's cycles have to do with how the earth renews itself. The living things within an ecosystem interact with each other and the ecosystems contain within themselves the resources to regenerate themselves. Obviously this is a very fragile system. My pieces Cyclus Mundialis, Cyclus Solaris, Equlibrium and my latest piece Cyclus Aquatis are inspired by these cycles. I find it fascinating that our earth has exactly the same amount of water it had thousands of years ago. It is being continually recycled through the water cycle.

"Collage"

The recycling aspect of nature also inspired me to recycle some of my older paintings as well as papers from magazines and use them as collage in my artwork. To me working with collage is like painting with paper; the artwork is made from an assemblage of different forms and colors, thus creating a new whole.

Artist Bio:

Born and raised in Germany, I have always been drawn to exploring new countries and cultures, and, of course, art. Being surrounded by European cultural heritage, as well as having studied several semesters of art history, I feel particularly drawn to abstract art.
    After studying at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Heidelberg, I was awarded a scholarship for San Francisco State University, where in 1981 I received a Master of Arts Degree, followed by a degree in Marketing from the North German Academy in Hamburg.
I have always pursued art, even during my previous career in Product Development and International Marketing. However, when I moved to Anna Maria, Florida in 2000, besides working on several interior design projects for my husband's structural engineering firm, I focused more and more on my creative side, and concentrated increasingly on experimenting with various art media. I work mostly in acrylics, mixed media and collage, and over the last year I have been experimenting with epoxy resin.
    My artwork is presently represented by '530 Burns Gallery' in Sarasota and can be found in private and corporate collections in Germany, the United States and Canada.
   In Florida my artwork has been shown in numerous exhibitions: The Florida Museum for Women Artists in DeLand, the Art Centers in Sarasota and Longboat Key, the Asolo Theater, Frary Gallery, Artist Guild Gallery, Raymond James and Met Life in Sarasota, the Dancing Crane Gallery in Bradenton, The Studio Gallery in Anna Maria, as well as in a solo exhibition at the Sarasota Symphony.
    In 2010 I co-founded Artinsight-Sarasota (www.artinsight-sarasota.com), an group of four artists with the goal of furthering the aspirations of their members in the local and larger national market and to promote the visual arts in the greater Sarasota and Manatee area. We organized 4 exhibitions over the last three years.
    In January 2014 I will be offering a class Mixed Media Collage at the community center in Anna Maria. I previously taught a similar class at the Artist Guild in Anna Maria. In February of 2014 I will have another solo show at the Sarasota Symphony.

Gallery Representation:

2012 - present         530 Burns Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2010 - 2012             Living Walls, Sarasota, FL
2007 - 2012             Light-Up-Your-Life, Sarasota, FL
2009 - 2010            Frary Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2005 - 2009           Artist Guild Gallery, Holmes Beach, FL

Publications:

                           Featured in Your Longboat Observer, Painted Ladies, September 29, 2011, Sarasota
                           Interview in Style, Herald Tribune, March 2011, Sarasota

Solo Exhibitions:

2012                  Harmony Gallery, Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, Sarasota, FL
2010                  The Sun House, Bradenton Beach, FL

Juried Exhibitions:

2013                  Sarasota at its Best, 530 Burns Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2013                  Miniatures, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2013                  Florida Flavor, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2013                  Point of View, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2012                  3rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Florida Museum for Women Artists, Deland, FL
2012                  Audubon Artists, Annual Exhibition, NY
2012                  The Best of the Best, The Players Theater, Sarasota, FL
2012                  The Sum of its Parts, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2012                  It’s Who We Are, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2012                  Artinsight-Sarasota and Friend, group exhibition at
                           The Players Theatre, Sarasota, FL
2012                  Breaking Boundaries, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  Material World, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  Why Not Women? Artinsight -Sarasota group exhibition,
                           The Studio at Gulf and Pine, Anna Maria Island,FL
2012                  Bettina Sego Solo Exhibition, Sarasota Orchestra’s Harmony Gallery,
                           Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center, Sarasota, FL
2011                  Group Show, Art League, Holmes Beach, FL, First Prize
2011                  The Other Persona, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  A Collaboration With Nature, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  INCONCEPT 2011 – Art Meets Fashion
2011                  Gallery Artists Group Show, The Dancing Crane Gallery, Bradenton, FL
2011                  Arts to You, Community Art Groups’ show, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  The Players Theater Group Exhibition, Sarasota, FL
2011                  Feed the Soul, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2011                  artinsight and friends group show, The Dancing Crane Gallery, Bradenton, FL
2010                  Artinsight- Sarasota, Premier Group Exhibition, Living Walls, Sarasota, FL
2010                  Outside Looking In, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2010                  A Night of Art and Jazz, Artinsight- Sarasota group show, MetLife Financial
                           Advisors and Wealth Management, Sarasota, FL
2010                  5 Women Artists group show, Raymond James & Associates, Sarasota, FL
2010                  INCONCEPT 2010 - Art Meets Fashion
2010                  Unbeatable Events, three gallery artists’ group show, Frary Gallery, Sarasota, FL
2010                  Green the Primary Color, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2009                  Masquerade, Mystery and Mischief, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2009                  Idols and Icons, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2009                  Neighbors Not Strangers, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2008                  Almost Too Precious to Sell, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2008                  Hidden Cultures, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
2007                  Longboat Key Center for the Art, juried, Honorable Mention
2005                  Spring Fling, LBK Center for the Arts

Groups:

• Artinsight-Sarasota, (founding member)
• Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota
• Art Center Sarasota
• National WCA, Women’s Caucus For Art