Tamara English
Portland, Oregon
The World’s Existence Is Not In The World
The World’s Existence Is Not In The World explores the themes of my current body of work, expressed in the artist statement below. Working on a globe within the context of these conceptual ideas has propelled the piece as well. The central focus of my work is the exploration of the inner atmosphere, with the understanding that such exploration supports honoring respecting not only one’s own experience, but also the experiences of other individuals. With such respect, tolerance and understanding of differing traditions may be cultivated.
Oil on globe, 12 inches diameter, 2011.
Artist Biography
Tamara English was born in New Haven, Connecticut and raised in Connecticut and Berlin. She graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2004. She now lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Her work references the visual vocabularies of Islamic tile-work, European Illuminated manuscripts, and quantum physics, combining these elements on the canvas.
In addition to exhibiting extensively in the Northwest, English’s oil paintings have been exhibited in London, New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, and Atlanta. Her work is currently being featured in an exhibition at the US Embassy in Riga, Latvia as part of the Art in Embassies program. In the past few years, English has been awarded several grants from the Regional Arts & Culture council in Portland, including a grant for an exhibition in the Portland Public Library system.
In 2010, English was featured in a documentary about Portland artists called “Art: PDX,” directed by award winning filmmaker Andy Blubaugh. Ten Portland artists were selected as representatives of the Portland art community, and interviewed and filmed in their studios.
English’s work is in public and private collections throughout the world.