Mary Mihelic received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Parsons the New School for Design in 2006. Since then, her artworks have been shown in New York City and around the nation. Prior to getting her M.F.A., Mary studied art extensively at the Museum School in Boston and at the SMFA’s programs in Venice, Italy. As a contemporary artist, she focuses on feminism, spirituality and politics. An excerpt from her artist statement reads, “In a time when people are leaving churches in record numbers and the historic relationship between religion and the art world has washed away, I make art about those things that bring us to our knees and humble us: the power of the ocean, the meltdown of a nuclear power plant, the courage of 53 school girls running for their lives... the moments that transcend religion.” She is fascinated by the way the imagination makes God a reality in the form of faith. Her undergraduate degree is from Boston College where she majored in English. Her running girls series is influenced by her education at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls Catholic high school near Chicago.
As an artist, she examines what makes us believe anything we don’t see for ourselves. ISIL beheads an American on camera and we first wonder if it is real. We see images showing the horror of chemical weapons in Syria and question their legitimacy. A losing candidate says the election was not legitimate and Americans believe him despite all the evidence to the contrary. She comments on how the real heroes are the protestors. They have the most faith. They are the first to believe.
Mary has exhibited at Sculpture Key West; her kneeler installation at One Brooklyn Bridge Park’s spctlclr vws show was mentioned in the New York Times; and her street art includes enormous pink earmuffs placed on NYC air conditioners still sticking out windows on the coldest day of the year (shown above). Her running girls series has been covered in Artnet, Artnews, the Religous New Service and more.
Mary Mihelic is presently part of the t.Rutt artist team making art about Donald Trump. One of the artworks involved buying a former Trump campaign bus when it went up for sale on Craigslist and transforming it into a contemporary traveling anti-Trump artwork. The art has been featured on The BBC London, The Rachel Maddow Show, Vice, Fuji TV, Deutschland Radio, W Radio South America, Univision, Bete TV, Arte TV and featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Hyperallergic, The LA Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, USA Today, Artnet, Artnews, Quartz, The Art Newspaper, Artforum, Voice of America (Turkey), The Economist, Newsweek, Business Insider, The Sydney Morning Herald... and publications worldwide.
Mary Mihelic is also currently part of the comedy writing team for This Week This Week, LA's premiere topical sketch show (performed live every Thursday at the Open Fist Theatre).
ART EXHIBITIONS:
January and February 2021
Riverviews Artspace, Solo Show
Running Girls Series
Lynchberg, Virginia
February and March 2018
Art of the Subconscious
Theta Spring/Contra Studios
New York, New York
Spring 2018
VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide
Selected Running Girl Artworks
Ronald Feldman Gallery
Curator: Dr. Batya Brutin and Academic Advisors
Remember the Women Institute
New York, New York
May, June July 2017
Core Club
New York, New York
Open Carry: The Right to Bear Art
May 24 through August 19, 2017
Art on the Front Lines
RONALD FELDMAN GALLERY
New York, New York
Desecration Flags
APRIL 2017
REACT
Curated by Jackie Dreier
New York, New York
Trump Campaign Bus, Desecration,
This is What a Feminist Looks Like and
Selected Running Girls
APRIL 2017
INVITED SPEAKER
Art and Politics
New York University, New York
JUNE 18-19 2016
SMACK MELLON
“Of the People”
Brooklyn, New York
Trump Campaign Bus
March 2016
VOLTA NY
New York, New York
Trump Campaign Bus
FALL 2016
Grunin Center for the Arts, Solo Show
Running Girls Series
Ocean Gallery
Ocean College, Tom’s River, New Jersey
Artist-in-residence October 3 - 10th, 2016
Awarded artist grant
Guest Speaker: Beyond the Classroom: Global Education for Girls
FALL 2016
Georgian Court University , Solo Show
(in collaboration with the Grunin Center)
Running Girls Series
November 2016
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Invited Guest Speaker as part of Critical Concerns 2016:
Women’s Voices in the Jubilee Year of Mercy
Winter/Spring, 2016
Crane Arts Solo Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Running Girls Series
Fall/Winter 2015
Body Politic
Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center at Gibney Dance
New York, New York
Running Girl 8
Fall 2015
MASS MoCA
(The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art)
Artist Residency: The Studios at MASS MoCA/Assets for Artists
North Adams, Massachusetts
Winter 2016
Conception Art Fair
Shown by Crane Arts, Philadelphia
Miami, Florida
Running Girl Artworks and Installation
Spring 2015
The Cornell University Johnson Museum, Solo Show
Curated by visiting scholar Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe
Fall, 2015
Osilas Gallery, Season X, Ten-year Retrospective
Bronxville, New York
Running Girl 16, Steal Home
February thru April 2, 2015
Gallery Bergen -- Solo show
Running Girls Series
Bergen County Community College
Bergen, NJ
March 8-11, 2015
CIES Conference : Imagining a Humanist Education Globally, Solo Show
(The Comparative and International Education Society)
Ten Running Girl Artworks on Exhibition
Washington D.C.
International Women’s Day Invited Guest Speaker
March 2015
Conception Gallery
“Woman Up”
New York, NY
Running Girl Artworks
June, July, and August 2013
Elements in Balance: Earth, Air, Fire Water
AnnMarie Sculpture Garden, in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Dowell, MD
Kneeler Sculptures
October and November 2012
Sacred Memories, Honoring the Dead Across Cultures, juried by the city of Los Angeles Dia de los Muertos Committee
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument
Los Angeles, CA
“Tsunami” – Work on Paper
September and October 2012
“Journey of Faith,” an exhibition curated by Shanley Hanlon
Osilas Gallery
Bronxville, NY,
“Hot as Hell” – A site-specific installation
April and May 2012
“Flying Machines” -- curated by Staci Offutt and Natalie Conti
Westmoreland County Museum of American Art Biennale
The Headkeeper Gallery
Greensburg, PA,
“Levitation” – Artworks on Paper
May 2011
A Change of Climate – a month-long exhibition sponsored by Blue Source
25 West 17th Street
New York, NY
“Tsunami Series” – Artworks on Paper
April 2011
Moi Meme Solo Exhibition
“Our Majestic Meltdown” – curated by Zev Jonas
Moi Meme Showroom
New York, NY
Artworks on canvas and paper
2010 and 2011
ArtBridge – a juried NYC public art exhibition,
panel included Guggenheim Curator David Van Der Leer
Chelsea Outdoor Billboard Space
New York, NY
“Poseidon is Pissed Off”, a mixed media painting
October/November 2010
Art Loop Open – a juried Chicago public art exhibition.
Block 37
Chicago, IL
“I would like my life back, says the planet”, a site-specific installation
based on BP's Tony Hayward's statement.
May/June 2009
spctclr vws – a month-long exhibition sponsored by Stribling
One Brooklyn Bridge Park,
Brooklyn, NY,
“Goodness Won”, a site-specific installation
March/April 2009
Sculpture Key West –a juried exhibition curated by Shamim Momin,
co-curator for the 2008 Whitney Biennale.
Fort Zachary State Park, Key West, Florida
“Forcing Goodness”, a mixed media sculpture
February and March 2007
Building Show – a juried exhibition
Exit Art
New York, NY,
“Long-Winded”, an interactive installation
October 2006
Signatures of Age – a juried exhibition
Womanmade Gallery,
Chicago, IL
“Emerging”, mixed media on canvas
August/September 2006
Amendicoms Project – a traveling Exhibition, NYC to Israel
Makor Gallery
New York, NY,
“Winged Peace”, mixed media on paper
July 2006
Wish You Were Here – an invitation only exhibition
A.I.R. Gallery
New York, NY
“Counting the days”, mixed media on canvas
April 2006
Uprising -- Parsons the New School for Design MFA Thesis Show
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
New York, NY
“I do”, a mixed media sculpture
February 2006
Small Axes
Parsons the New School for Design MFA Show
Heidi Cho Gallery,
New York, New York
CURRENTLY SHOWING OTHER ARTWORKS:
November 2012 – present
Vermont Exhibition of Contemporary NYC Artists
Mountain Road Resort
Stowe, Vermont
“It's Getting Warmer” – Mixed Media on Paper
October 2012 - present
Brush, NYC – 9 East 19th Street
New York, NY
“Oil Spill” and “Tsunami 1”
One of Mary Mihelic's public artworks: photo above documents when she placed earmuffs on air conditioners throughout NYC on the coldest day of the year.