Judy Vienneau is a Professional Artist and Arts Administrator with a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. Since moving to Florida from Massachusetts in 1989, having worked previously in commercial graphic design and advertising for 10 years, Vienneau has been studying traditional sculptural techniques, and producing wire and mixed media sculpture.
Vienneau has exhibited in galleries and juried exhibitions throughout Florida and the Northeast for the last thirty years. Her artwork is part of private and public collections nationally. Recent recognition of her work includes an award of an Emerging Artist Grant from Creative Pinellas, Largo, Florida in 2020, a solo exhibition at 621 Gallery in Tallahassee Florida in 2023, and a Purchase Award from the Decatur Arts Alliance in Decatur GA in 2024. Her primary career goal at this time as a creative professional is to focus on creating original, contemporary artwork using wire sculpture and mixed media techniques.
Current activities:
Professional Mixed Media Artist
Founder and Director, Gulf Coast Artists’ Alliance, Inc., a non-profit membership organization for artists
Graphic Designer for non-profit arts organizations
Fine Art/Wire Sculpture representation in Florida at:
Morean Arts Center, Downtown St. Petersburg
GCAA ArtWorks, Downtown St. Petersburg
Statement
With a background infused by both the linear qualities of graphic illustration and the three-dimensional qualities of traditional clay modeling, I began back in the late 1990’s to create my first wire sculpture. These early works, inspired by the work of Alexander Calder, depicted portraits and figures of both animals and humans. Wall pieces emulate “drawing in space” - a combination of two and three dimensions - as the wire forms come away from the wall in relief. Concurrently, I developed mixed media pieces which made statements about society, politics and culture. I have used clay and casting, found objects, metal, collage, fiber, mosaic and more in an interactive way to get my concept and message across.
In my recent work, I create acrylic paintings on canvas or birch board, upon which I attach wire figures. In all cases, I start with an idea and a plan, which I sketch out first. The intention is for the painted background to highlight the story told by the wire figures. My goal in my current work is to combine the figurative wire works with other media to make social commentary, while building a significant body of work utilizing this technique.
After decades of working in various media, I am now presented with the challenge of putting it all together in a meaningful way. I want the viewer to see and appreciate the message, as well as the unanswered questions I am depicting in my work, no matter how subtle.