Multi Media Artist
Member of Flag since:
2014
Artists Bio:
Born and raised in the rural Deep South, Janis Brothers finds a wealth of inspiration from her surroundings and life experiences. For more than thirty years, she has worked as an artist, designer, art educator and art advocate. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from Florida State University in 1986, Brothers worked in the design industry as a commercial and residential interior designer. To focus on professionalism in the visual arts, she returned to Florida State University to obtain a Studio Art, Master of Fine Arts degree in 2005.
Since 2006, Brothers has served as Professor of Art at Florida Gateway College, sharing her passion for the visual arts and promoting the arts as a viable profession. She is committed to set an example for her students through her artistic practice, continual enhancement of academic knowledge in the arts, and professional development activities. Brothers has received numerous awards and honors, exhibiting throughout Florida and South Georgia
including the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Appleton Museum of Art, the Florida Museum for Women Artists, 621 Gallery, Florida School of the Arts, Valdosta State University Galley,
Florida State University Museum of Fine Art and Oglesby Gallery, Thomas Center Galleries, and The von Liebig Art Center. Brothers’ work is included in both public institutions and private collections. She is a member of the Southeastern College Art Conference and the College Art Association, a leading organization that upholds the standards of theory,
research and artistic practice in the visual arts.
Artist Statement:
I am interested in loss, both temporal and permanent, and the consequences of death. Using compelling images inspired by my rural, southern culture, I confront the viewer with the reality of loss and death on an intimate level. Incorporating video and photography, my multi-media work varies in scale from small sculptures with personal relics to large installations. These works are narratives of the subjects’ stories of loss and healing, enriched with dialogue and layered distortions of ambient sounds captured during recording.
Beginning in 2005, this current body of work focuses on family members poetically reenacting events of loss and caught in candid moments dealing with the reality of death. I am also conscious of the connections between our human sense of loss and the fragility of our surroundings. I will continue this body of work, investigating this theme with site-specific works, drawings, shrine-like sculptures protecting relics, and wearable art incorporating metal with water from disappearing environmental sites.
Solo Exhibitions:
2012 Constant Reminders, Florida School of the Arts, Fine Arts Gallery, Palatka, Florida
2005 On the Verge, Camp Weed and Cerveny Conference Center for the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, Live Oak, Florida
2000 New Works, North Florida Community College, Fine Arts Gallery, Madison, Florida
Group & Juried Exhibitions:
2013 Camera USA: National Photography Award and Exhibition 2013,
The von Liebig Art Center, Naples, Florida, juried by Henry Benson, Christopher Rauschenberg and Ron Bishop
2013 62nd Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida, juried by Mark Scala, Chief Curator at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee
2013 Valdosta National 2013, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
2012 Appleton Biennial 2012: Florida Installation Art, Art of Our Time II, Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, Florida,
juried by Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Founder of Artformz
2012 Valdosta National 2012, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Gallery,Valdosta, Georgia
2010 First Annual Juried Exhibition, Florida Museum for Women Artists, Deland, Florida; Juried by Dr. Leslie Hammond, Founder of Artistic Eye Art Services; John W. Streetman, Executive Director, Evansville Museum,
and Trish Thompson, Fine Arts Professor, Daytona State College
2010 Thomas Center Galleries Juror’s Choice: 2009 Regional Award Winners, Thomas Center, Gainesville, Florida
2010 Art Matters Photo and Digital Exhibition, Levy Center for the Performing Arts, Lake City Community College
2009 Thomas Center Galleries Regional Juried Exhibition, Thomas Center, Gainesville, Florida, juried by Michael Burban, Gallery Director and Professor, Florida School of the Arts
2008 Women’s History Month Art Exhibition, Howard Conference Center, Lake City Community College
2007 Assemblage, 621 Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida
2006 Valdosta National 2006, Fine Arts Gallery, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
2005 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition,
Museum of Fine Arts, Florida
State University, Tallahassee, Florida
2005 Art Encounter 2005, The von Liebig Art Center, Naples, Florida, juried by Irvin Lippman, Director, Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale
2005 Thomas Center Galleries Regional Juried Exhibition, Thomas Center, Gainesville, Florida
2005 A Literal Space, Oglesby Gallery, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
2005 Progressive Center MFA/BFA Exhibition,
Tallahassee, Florida
2004 Apperception, Oglesby Gallery, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida MFA Sculpture Exhibition, MFA Studio Gallery, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, Florida
2004 Nancy Turner Juried Sculpture Exhibition, Oglesby Gallery, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, Florida
2004 Lucky in Love, MFA Studio Gallery, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
2004 Autumn Artfest 2004, Suwannee River Regional Library, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
2003Autumn Artfest 2003, Suwannee River Regional Library, Live Oak Artists
Guild, Live Oak, Florida
2002 Spring Into Arts Juried Exhibition, Lowndes/Valdosta Cultural Arts Center, Valdosta, Georgia
2001 Colored Pencil Society of America DC 113 Exhibition, Brick City Art Center, Ocala, Florida
2001 Autumn Artfest 2001, Suwannee River Regional Library, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
2001 Spring Into Arts Juried Exhibition, Lowndes/Valdosta Cultural Arts Center, Valdosta, Georgia
2000Autumn Artfest 2000, Suwannee River Regional Library, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
2000 New Works, Artworks Gallery, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
2000 College Board Corporate Office Educators Exhibition, Atlanta, Georgia
1999 New Works, Artworks Gallery, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
1998 Art on the Lawn, Warlard-Smith-Goza Conference Center, North Florida Community College, Madison, Florida
1998Autumn Artfest 1998, Suwannee River Regional Library, Live Oak Artists Guild, Live Oak, Florida
1991 Arts Mania, Jacksonville Coalition for the Visual Arts, Independent Life Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida
1991 Images in Art, Ocala, Florida
1991 Cedar Key Arts Festival, Cedar Key, Florida
1991 Osceola Art Festival, Kissimmee, Florida
Honors and Awards:
2013 First Place Award, Valdosta National 2013, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Gallery, Valdosta, Georgia
2012 Second Place Award, Valdosta National 2012, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Gallery,
Valdosta, Georgia
2010 One of twenty-four Florida artists selected to attend the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and Creative Capital Foundation Professional Development Workshop held in Del Ray Beach, Florida and the Advance Professional Development Workshop held in Jacksonville,
Florida, sponsored in part by the National Endowment of the Arts: Challenge America Program
2009 Juror’s Choice Award, 9th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition and Invitation to Juror’s Choice: 2009 Regional Award Winners Invitational Exhibition, 2010,
Thomas Center Galleries, Gainesville, Florida
2008 Professional Development, Lake City Community College, Lake City, Florida – funding for attendance to master workshop for Metals and Jewelry with Suzanne Amendolara at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
2005 Honorable Mention Award, Art Encounter 2005, The von Liebig Art Center, Naples, Florida Sculpture Award, Department of Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee,Florida
2005 Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Department of Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
2004 Technical Assistantship, Department of Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Purchase Award, Nancy Turner Juried Sculpture Exhibition, Oglesby Gallery, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
2002 Colson Calendar Award, Spring Into Arts Juried Exhibition, Lowndes/Valdosta Cultural Arts Center, Valdosta, Georgia
1998 First Place, Art on the Lawn, Warlard-Smith-Goza Conference Center,
North Florida Community College, Madison, Florida
1994 Remolded Salon Award of Special Distinction, Modern Salon Magazine, 1994 Salons of the Year; Interior Design for One Twelve Hatley, Jasper, Florida
1991 Purchase Award, Images in Art, Ocala, Florida
Judge’s Discretion Award, Osceola Art Festival, Kissimmee, Florida
Current & Future Artistic Project:
The Suwannee Project is a series of photographs, sculpture and video that examines questions
of loss in youth, time and ultimately life. The project evolves around the dark, mysterious
waters of the Suwannee River and one of its numerous crystal clear feeder springs, Suwannee
Springs. This project began in 2005 with the video installation Passage, which reveals the
healing ritual of a young woman (my sister) after the loss of her daughter. The series
continued with Dust to Dust (triptych) and That Was Then/This Is now Vigil, which juxtapose
time from 2005 and 2011 to reveal loss of both youth and the depleting waters of Suwannee
Springs. The Spring’s rich history, known in the early 1900’s for its healing waters, still emits
a pungent smell of sulfur. This piece reveals this fragile environment facing its own
inevitable death.
Other works of this project include Vigil, which candidly documents a family memorial for a
loved one on a nearby bridge and Doldrums, a current project that examines the common
thread of a mother and daughter who have both lost children. Plans for future works include
expanding the series to site-specific installations and media including wearable art of metal
and water from the springs to preserve what is soon to be lost.
Professional Experience:
2006 – Present – Professor of Art, Florida Gateway College, Lake City, Florida – Instructor for beginning and advanced foundational level courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, metals and jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, two-dimensional design, three dimensional design, art appreciation and art history
2005 Graduate Teaching Associate, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida – Beginning Ceramics, hand-built ceramic forms, glazing and firing techniques.
2004 Graduate Technical Assistant, Ceramics Department, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida – responsible for maintenance and operation of electric and gas kilns, preparation of glazes, inventory of materials and
assistance in the construction of salt kiln
1996 – 2002 Art Instructor, Suwannee County School Board – Suwannee High School Instructor for three dimensional design, sculpture, ceramics and College Board Advanced Placement courses in Studio Art.
1990 – 2002 Interior Designer, JBDS, Live Oak, Florida – Owner of design firm specializing in architectural renovation and lighting design for residential and commercial clientele.
1993 Adjunct Art Instructor, Suwannee/Hamilton Vocational Teaching Center, Live Oak, Florida – Instructor of drawing and interior design for community enrichment adult students
1991 Adjunct Art Instructor, Lake City Community College Downtown Center, Lake City, Florida – Instructor for drawing and design for community enrichment students
1987 – 1990 Art Instructor, Suwannee County School Board; Branford High School –Instructor for drawing, painting, ceramics, two-dimensional and three-dimensional
design.
1986 – 1987 Interior Designer, Till Office, Equipment and Design, Bartow, Florida