Artist Bio:

Frances “Franny” Wertimer has an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she was also a recipient of the Leslie King Hammond Graduate Fellowship, and a BA in Philosophy from Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY). In August 2019, she presented her first solo show entitled Hidden Charm at Jubilee Arts Gallery in West Baltimore. In 2023, Wertimer was a Featured Artist on the LED Baltimore Billboard near Penn Station. Her work has been featured in galleries in NYC, Baltimore, and Washington DC, as well as by Artnet, Bmoreart, and on the cover of Dragonfly Arts & Transformative Justice Magazine. Wertimer was born in New York City, became an adult in New Orleans, LA, and currently resides in Baltimore, MD.

Artist Statement:

I create expressionistic, surreal, emotionally charged paintings and mixed media works that address themes of sisterhood, feminine shame, joy, and rage. I explore symbols of folk spirituality, syncretism and astrology, which are interwoven with my own personal mythology and life experiences. 

Through the use of bold color and strategically crowded compositions, I explore the contradictions of pleasure, vulnerability, intimacy, play, grief, magic, independence, loneliness and adventure. 

My process manifests via experimentation and communication between painting, sculpture, drawing, textual elements, home, and ritual.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Maryland Institute College of Art; Baltimore, MD – MFA, 2020

Skidmore College; Saratoga Springs, NY – BA, Philosophy, 2014

LaGuardia Arts High School (The “Fame” School) ; New York, NY - 2010

Selected Exhibitions

2023 See, Support, Collect, Latela Curatorial, Washington DC (online)

2023 Small Works, Big Talent: Sheila and Richard Riggs Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2023 Out of Order, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD

2022 Hot Rock X Cotyledon, Cotyledon Arts Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2020 MICA Grad Show 2020, Maryland Institute College of Art (online), Baltimore, MD

2020 Femmephilia, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY

2019 MFACA & MAT First Year Juried Show, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD

2019 Hidden Charm (solo show), Jubilee Arts Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2018 The Red List, Bar Redux, New Orleans, LA 

2018 Portculture, Urban South Brewery, New Orleans, LA

2015 A Benefit For Our School At Blair Grocery, Superchief Gallery, New York, NY

2014 Fool’s Paradise, Case Gallery, Saratoga Springs, NY

2011 Tang Party, Frances M. Young Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY

Awards, Fellowships and Certifications

2024 Google Professional Certification in Project Management

2023 Featured Artist: LED Baltimore Billboard

2021 Accelerated Certification in Teaching, Notre Dame of Maryland University College of Graduate and Professional Studies

2019 Maryland Institute College of Art Community Engagement Grant

2018 Community Art Collaborative Americorps Fellowship

2018 Leslie King Hammond Graduate Fellowship

2018 Community Arts Merit Scholarship

2016 TeachNOLA TNTP Teaching Fellow Graduate with Distinction

2012 Hertog Foundation Political Studies Fellowship

Press

Bmore Art, 2024: https://bmoreart.com/event/belonging

Artnet, 2020: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/editors-picks-january-20-2020-1752261

School of Visual Arts, 2020: https://www.macp.sva.edu/femmephilia

Intersection of Change Annual Report, 2019: https://intersectionofchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Intersection-of-Change-2019-annual-report.pdf

Bmore Art, 2019: https://bmoreart.com/2019/10/bmorearts-picks-baltimore-art-openings-galleries-and-events-october-1-7.html