ABOUT/CV
Tamara English is an award winning American artist whose work explores themes of reenchantment and the buoyancy that arises through awakening to divine presence. Her oil paintings reveal the inner worlds as vibrant healthy landscapes, exploring how the inner aspects of our beings are like gardens that may be cultivated when one is spiritually engaged. Her work also explores the different levels of awareness beyond the physical. Most wisdom traditions speak about the existence of these different levels which include the subtle and causal realms. These realms are where our beliefs, perceptions and inquiry and understanding of what has sacred meaning to us are found. English blends imaginary elements with elements found in the physical world to create an atmosphere that expands our perception of reality. Her work reveals the vastness and beauty of an inner life in which one is connected to their divine ideal, beyond any specific tradition or belief system. Each painting may be considered a portal to discover the magical, mystical and alchemical in everyday life, well-being and upliftment, and that all is imbued with Spirit.
Tamara English’s work has been exhibited throughout the US and internationally including at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New York Armory, the US Embassy in RIga, Latvia and the Seattle Art Museum. She holds a BFA in painting from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her work has been written about in PORT, Pacific Dissent Magazine, Hyperallergic and Oakland Art Enthusiast. She has been awarded grants and projects from the Regional Art and Culture Council in Portland, Oregon and the Ford Family Foundation. She has been awarded a Golden Spot artist residency at Playa Summerlake in Oregon. Her paintings have appeared in the television series “Portlandia,” and in the documentary “Art: PDX” about Portland artists. Her work is widely collected and represented in many collections, including the collections of Lock Haven University, the City of Portland Portable Works, Columbia Sportswear, and a former US president. English lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
CV – Tamara English
Education
2004 BFA, Pacific Northwest College of Art
Selected Solo/ Two Person Exhibitions
| 2024 | Recent Work, Clymer Museum, Ellensburg, WA (upcoming) Recent Work, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR (upcoming) |
| 2023 | Wilds Within, Umpqua Community College Art Gallery, Roseburg, OR Verdancy Within, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2022 | Recent Work, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2021 | Recent Work, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2019 | Adored, curated by Tammy Jo Wilson & Owen Premore, Museum of the Oregon Territory, Oregon City, OR Presence, Johnstone Financial Advisors AccessArt Exhibition Program in association with the Oregon Cultural Trust, Lake Oswego, OR |
| 2018 | Majesty, Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR |
| 2016 | The Worlds Inside, John F. Sloan Gallery at Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA |
| 2015 | For The Bees, North Portland Library, Portland, OR |
| 2014 | The Worlds Are Glorious, Nisus Gallery at Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Portland, OR Recent Work, Gallery at Providence Hospital, curated by Seth Nehil, Portland, OR |
| 2012 | Reorientation x 5, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2010 | The Universal Book Of Hours, North Portland Library, Portland, OR |
| 2008 | Imaginal/Manifest, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR |
| 2007 | Recent Work, Art Institute Of Portland Gallery, Portland, OR |
Selected Group Exhibitions
| 2022 | 50th Coeducation Anniversary Art Show, Taft School, Watertown, CT Group Exhibition, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2021 | All The Lights, Treat Gallery, New York, NY Happiness, curated by Exhibizone, Biafarin Online Gallery |
| 2020 | Art Makes History, curated by Tammy Jo Wilson & Owen Premore, Museum of the Oregon Territory, Oregon City, OR Group Exhibition, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2019 | In God We Trust: Reflections on Religion in America, curated by Nezka Pfeifer, Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI |
| 2018 | New Work, New Artists, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA Group Exhibition, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2017 | Four From Portland, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA Group Exhibition, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR Reverence & Resonance, High Street Gallery, Salem, OR Project Postcard, University Art Gallery at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM |
| 2016 | Group Exhibition, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR PNCA Alumni Exhibition, curated by MK Guth, Pacific Northwest College Of Art,Portland, OR The Pull Of Repetition, curated by Mark R. Smith, North View Gallery at Portland Community College, Portland, OR Transference, curated by Mark and Rae Mahaffey, Autzen Gallery at Portland State University, Portland, OR Spirit In The Land, Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2015 | Monster Drawing Rally, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR Botanica: All Things Plant Life, Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA Art & Flowers: Color, Form and Harmony, Cape Fear Botanical Garden & Rosenthal Gallery at Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC Recent Work, Caplan Art Designs, Portland, OR |
| 2014 | New Season New Faces, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY |
| 2013 | International Contemporary Islamic Art Exhibition, curated by Dr. Nada Shabout, Eisemann Center, Dallas, TX Surf & Turf, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY The Divine Feminine, Dragonfly Gallery at Amity Foundation, Tucson, AZ |
| 2012 | Becoming Artfully Aware, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA Layered Spaces, Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL Portland Visual Art Exchange, Littman Gallery at Portland State University, Portland OR |
| 2011 | Welcome to My World, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR Affordable Art Fair, Turner Barnes Gallery, London, UK Recent Work, Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2010 | Affordable Art Fair, Portland Fine Art, New York, NY Group Exhibition, Art In Embassies Program, Riga, Latvia Nature Sublima, Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL Gifted, Littman Gallery at Portland State University, Portland, OR |
| 2009 | 5 x 5, Beppu Wairda Gallery, Portland, OR Group Show, Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2007 | Be Blue (Sky) Show, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR |
| 2006 | Dealer’s Choice, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR Alumni Show, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR |
| 2005 | The Red Show, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR |
Media
Speer, Richard, Spirit Embodied: Tamara English’s Verdancy Within, Catalogue, 2024
Speer, Richard, Archipelago Rising: Tamara English’s The Great Uplift, Catalogue, 2022
Elisa Wouk Almino (editor), “A View From the Easel During Times of Quarantine”, Hyperallergic (online), February 26, 2021
Whitham, Kayle, Curatorial Volume 2: Leaders In Contemporary Art, Capsules Books, Melbourne, Australia, May, 2020
Kendra & Ashley Larson, Beauty, Re-enchantment, and Mystery: An Interview with Tamara English, Art Gab Podcast, July, 2019
White, Charles, “Tamara English”, Pacific Dissent Magazine, Los Angeles, January/February 2016
Harlow, Joanna, Experience “The Worlds Within’ Tamara English”, The Eagle Eye, Lock Haven, PA February 11, 2016
Staff, Botanica: “All Things Plant Life at Bedford Gallery”, OaklandArtEnthusiast, Web,August 15th, 2015
Speer, Richard, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, March 5th, 2014
Shabout, Nada, International Contemporary Islamic Art Exhibition. Catalogue, Dallas, TX 2013
Speer, Richard, Life as Spiritual Practice: Thoughts on Tamara English’s New Work, Catalogue 2013
Driscoll, Megan, “Religious Harmony”, PORT, Web, December 5, 2012
Art: PDX, Artists In Their Studios, Documentary, directed by Andy Blubaugh, 2012
Speer, Richard, “A Baseline of Joy: The Oil Paintings of Tamara English”, Reorientation x 5 Catalogue 2012
English, Tamara, “Pointing to the Divine”, Faith & Form: The Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art and Architecture, Vol. XLV, No. 2, 2012
Norris, TJ, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, November 30th, 2011
Speer, Richard, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, December 15th, 2010
Holloway, Jane, “Artist Focus: Tamara English”, The Face Of Chelmsford, Chelmsford, United Kingdom, September, 2010
US Department of State Art In Embassies Exhibition, Catalogue, Riga, Latvia, 2010
Speer, Richard, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, October 28th, 2009
Speer, Richard, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, May 6th, 2009
Speer, Richard, “Now Showing”, Willamette Week, Portland, OR, July 9th, 2008
Row, D.K., “Summer’s Here! Head to the Galleries”, The Oregonian, July 3rd, 2008
DeLuca, Andie, “And Now For Something Completely Different”, PORT, Web. June 29th, 2005
Residencies / Awards / Grants
2018 The Ford Family Foundation Oregon Visual Artist Mid-career Residency Award
Playa Artist Residency, Summerlake, OR
2011 Regional Arts & Culture Council Project Grant
2010 Regional Arts & Culture Council Project Grant
2009 Regional Arts & Culture Council Professional Development Grant
2003 Charles Carey Life Drawing Prize, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
Notable Collections
Columbia Sportswear, Portland, OR
Bouneff and Chally Attorneys At Law, Portland, OR
Mansion Del Bosque, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA
Zenana Spa, Portland, OR
Chroma Salon, Portland, OR
Rejuvenation Hardware, Portland, OR
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
Springridge at Charbonneau Restaurant, Wilsonville, OR
Cascade Aids Project, Portland, OR
Henry E Dunn III, Trustee, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT