April Glory Funcke
Two Pink Roses, 2021
oil on panel
8 x 6 in.
Objects speak to me in the poetry of form: shape, color, value, rhythm, and texture. Through quiet contemplation of the ordinary, I find geometries that align to form secret meanings. Direct observation is always fooled by memory and association, becoming an exercise in questioning and imagining what I see. I am fascinated by the magic of pigment becoming a private, intimate painted world; the painting has its own internal logic. Another sort of intelligence comes into play while painting, a type of focused intuition in response to the physical act of painting. There is an empathic relationship between the physicality of the painting process, the brushstrokes, the scale, and how a painting is experienced, seen, and felt in the body. Painting is both an act of faith and a vehicle for transformation, and it is essential to remain open to the influences of the unknown.
"I am fascinated by the magic of pigment."
EDUCATION
1989
MFA, University of California, Davis, CA
1987
BA, Art Studio, University of California, Davis, CA
1986
Yale Summer School, Norfolk, CT
1970
High School of Art and Design. New York, NY
TEACHING
1997-1999
Instructor, City College of San Francisco, CA
1994
Instructor, Santa Barbara City College
1990-1993
Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara, Drawing, Painting, Figure Drawing, Color Theory & Design, Printmaking, American Art History
1992
Instructor, Stanford University, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1991
Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Lemberg Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1989
Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Wayne Thiebaud, Influencer, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, CA
2020
Feminizing Permanence, Selections from the Permanent Collection, St Mary’s College Museum of Art, Moraga, CA
2019
Slice, A Juried Exhibit of Regional Art, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
2016
Tableau, Selections from the Permanent Collection. Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
SELECTED AWARDS
1994-1995
Senior Fulbright Scholar Award Presented a series of lectures on Contemporary American Realism and researched the academic tradition of figure painting at the Repin Institute, Russian Academy of Art, St. Petersburg, Russia
1989
Juror's Choice Award, “New Art: Paintings from New York, Texas, and California,” Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, TX
1988
Graduate Research Award, University of California, CA
1986
Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship, Yale University, Norfolk, CT
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1994
Gordon, Allen M.,“Flatlanders,” Artweek, February 3, 1994.
1991
Jenkins, Steven, “April Funcke,” Artweek, December 5, 1991.
1989
Dalkey, Victoria, “Positions of Influence,” Sacramento Bee, December 31, 1989.
