Mary Ann Sears

Raised in Phoenix, Sears earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with distinction, from ASU in 1975, taught grade school and High School art for two years, then found a position with an interior design studio in Phoenix. This latter experience strengthened her connection with graphic design, so evident in her work today.

Sears later joined the Phoenix Art Group, and her design sense shifted to decorative landscapes not unlike those of French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. This work placed Sears's attention on the play of lights and darks, the sense of layering, which became the framework of her current design vocabulary.

The former Smith-Krol gallery on Gurley St. first displayed Sears's monotypes. Should it be surprising that they sold well right away, considering the year was 1993 and the population of Prescott less than 20,000? Sears reckons those pieces went to visitors and local collectors alike. The Baleri Building on North Cortez St. purchased 19 Sears monotypes for its lobbies and corridors. She received a commission for offices at The Crossings, and Prescott Unity Church has several Sears originals in its permanent collection.

With juried exhibitions and other key shows literally across the country since 1976, including the Los Angeles Art Expo and the Phippen Private Collectors Exhibition, Sears has experienced broad acceptance of a personal art form that is expressive, idiosyncratic, and communicative.

Courtesy Lee Baldwin

Born:

Capser, Wyoming, 1952

Exhibitions:

1995 - New York Art Expo / Smith Krol Gallery, Prescott, Arizona
1994 - New York Art Expo / Cantoni, Dallas, Texas
1993 - Anaheim Art Expo / New York Art Expo
1992 - Los Angeles Art Expo / New York Art Exp / Tokyo International Art Show / Miami International Art Exposition / Art Asia, Hong Kong / Art Detour '92, Phoenix, Arizona
1991 - Los Angeles Art Expo / New York Art Expo / Tokyo Art Expo / Art Detour '91, Phoenix, Arizona
1990 - Los Angeles Art Expo / New York Art Expo
1989 - Los Angeles Art Expo / New York Art Expo
1988 - "Abstract Adventure" Group exhibition, Portfolio Graphics, Montclair, New Jersey / "Monoprints: State of the Art Prints from the Phoenix Art Press." Traveling exhibition, Arizona Commission on the Arts.
1977 - "Tri-University Student Art Exhibition." Arizona State University, Tempe; University of Arizona, Tucson; Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.
1976 - "Festival VII Exhibition." Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, Arizona.  Juried exhibition.  Judge: Henry Hopkins, Director, San Fancisco Museum of Modern Art. / "Arizona Print Competition." Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona.  Juried exhibition. Judge: Clinton Adams, Dean, College of Fine Art, University of New Mexico and Director, Tamarind Print Institute.
1975 - "Fine Arts '75", Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, Arizona.  Juried exhibition.  Judge: Ronald Hickman, Director, Phoenix Art Museum.
1974 - "ASU Student Competition", Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.  Juried Exhibition. Judges: Miriam Shapiro and Ron Grow.

Catalogs:

"Art Expo California", Editor: Lilla Behn, Director, Art Group, Los Angeles Convention Center. 1992.

Education:

Art Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, B.F.A., 1975.