Lydia Gravis, b. 1981
EDUCATION
2013 MFA Visual Arts, Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Boston, MA
2003 BA with Dual Majors: Painting and Drawing & Human Studies: Society & Individual Concentration, Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC
PROFESSIONAL ARTS ADMINISTRATION EXPERIENCE
2014 - 2024 - Director of Art Exhibitions & Public Programs, Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw Gallery, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
Directed all aspects of visual art exhibitions and public programs for the 3,000 square foot Mary Elizabeth Dee Shaw gallery on Weber State University’s main campus and the off-campus Dumke Arts Plaza, a $4M dynamic outdoor gallery built in 2021 in downtown Ogden, Utah. Annual programming responsibilities included: curatorial oversight of 6 large-scale exhibitions, 2 video exhibitions, quarterly public performances and events, 8 visiting artist lectures, artist Q&A’s, and community outreach educational programs. Additional responsibilities included: public speaking; curating panel discussions and artist interviews; university permanent art collection oversight; studio visits; 6,000 square foot gallery complex facility management; curatorial committee and community advisory board leadership; third party contractor and vendor sourcing and coordination; financial endowment, gift, and grant account management; grant writing and reporting; donor relations; $250-350K annual programming budget development, allocation, and oversight; exhibition catalog production and editing; supervisory oversight of 10-20 direct and indirect reports; leading an international affinity group of gallery and museum directors for the International Council of Fine Arts Deans; presenting at in-person and virtual professional conferences and trainings; exhibition layout, design, install and deinstall; curatorial programming research and curating user experience within the gallery and public art spaces; educational arts advocacy within university and off-campus communities; managing professional relationships with internal and external collaborative partners including artists, curators, museum directors, professional organizations, municipalities, private non-profit organizations and independent contractors including architects, engineers, photographers, fabricators, installation assistants, fine art shipping brokers, designers, printers, and all other relevant industry vendors.
2023-2024 - Chair - Professional Interest Group: International Academic Museum and Gallery Directors within the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD)
Led advocacy efforts, online presentations and virtual discussions for academic museum and gallery directors in order to advance the understanding of their unique roles on university campuses.
*** 2023 Annual ICFAD Conference Presentation: “A Reconciled Future Can only Happen with a Clear View of the Past: The Power of Academic Galleries to Hold Space for Truth-Telling and Healing through Meaningful Programming.
2010-2020 - Adjunct Instructor - Department of Visual Art & Design, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
Taught visual arts foundations, Advanced Drawing, and Professional Practices classes as an adjunct instructor.
2007-2014 - Visual Arts Outreach Manager - Weber State University, Ogden, UT
Developed, implemented and managed visual arts outreach programming that served over 5,000 campus and off-campus community members annually. Responsibilities included: Budget development and management, grant writing and reporting, logistical coordination, interviewing and hiring instructors and program staff, coordinating marketing and PR, collaborating with off-campus partners, donor relations, team management and support, public speaking, gallery tours, program marketing and collateral dissemination, and vendor and independent contractor relationship management
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 - Survival and Resilience, Granary Arts, Ephraim, Utah
2023 - Lydia Gravis, Atrium Gallery, Washington Terrace Library, South Ogden, Utah
2021 Lydia Gravis, Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
October 2020 - Lydia Gravis: Piecing Together, Drifting Apart, Salt Lake Community College Eccles Gallery, SLC, UT
Dec 2019 - Feb 2020 Touching the Void, Presented by Carper Contemporary at Argo House, Ogden, UT
Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 Tracing the Untraceable, Nox Contemporary, Salt Lake City, UT
2018 - Lydia Gravis: Mark-making in Liminal Spaces, Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
SELECTED 2 & 3 PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2014 Mark by Mark: Denyer, Gravis & Stevenson, Alice Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 As Grass Grows: Ten Years at Prairie side Outpost, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO *forthcoming
2024 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
2021 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
2020 Paper Projects, Presented by Carper Contemporary, Argo House gallery, Ogden, UT
2019 53rd National Juried Drawing and Small Sculpture Exhibition, Cain Art Gallery, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX
2019 Paper in Particular, Columbia College Art Galleries, Columbia, MO
2018 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
2016 Paper in Particular, Columbia College Art Galleries, Columbia, MO
2016 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
2016 Statewide Annual Competition: Works on Paper, Rio Gallery, SLC, UT
2016 35 x 35 (35 artists under 35), Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT *Juror’s Award
2015 Odyssey, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
2014 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
2014 MAS Attack 6, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, California
2013 Statewide Annual Competition: Works on Paper, Rio Gallery, SLC, UT *honorable mention
2013 Drawn Together, Urban Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
2013 Boston Young Contemporaries Exhibition, Boston University, Boston, MA
2013 MFA Graduate Exhibition, Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Boston, MA
2012 MFA National Competition, First Street Gallery, NY, NY (Juror: John Yau)
2012 Biennial Faculty Exhibition, Weber State University, Ogden, UT
AWARDS and HONORS
2020 Ogden City Mayor’s Award in the Arts, Visual Artist Category
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
2020 Acquisition - State of Utah Alice Merrill Horne Public Art Collection
2020 Acquisition - Salt Lake County Utah Public Art Collection
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2021 “The Artwork of Lydia Gravis,” Weber The Contemporary West, Spring 2021 Edition, print
2020 “Exhibition Preview: Lydia Gravis, Touching the Void,” American Art Collector Magazine, January 2020 Issue 171. print.
2019 “Artist Profile: Lydia Gravis Embraces the Chaos,” by Shawn Rossiter, 15 Bytes Online Magazine, December 2019. web.
2018 “An Experience in Limbo: Lydia Gravis’ ‘Mark-Making in Liminal Spaces’ Envisions the Invisible,” Arizona Daily Sun, November 2018, web.
2018 “Visual Artists: Who do you Love? Lydia Gravis & Julie Mehretu” 15 Bytes Online Magazine, February 2018. web.
2014 “Starting from Scratch: Mark by Mark at Alice Gallery,” by Geoff Wichert, 15 Bytes Online Magazine, March 2014. web.