As an artist, I am intrigued by the way spaces work together and how people inhabit — and interact — with those spaces. Seeking to capture this in my work, I spend my time traveling, observing, and sitting quietly wherever I go. I do this to gather the essence of a place, to soak in the details, and to begin to know how to interpret those places.

My work requires exploration and travel, but sometimes I’m a tourist in my own towns of Athens, Georgia, USA and St. Maixant, La Creuse, France. I am at my greatest center of peace and inspiration as I discover locations to document, creating sketches on the spot, and returning to the studio to create new bodies of work. This work often makes its way back to the place where it was gathered, as I love to share these works with the people inhabiting the very spaces I interpret. I believe that the beauty surrounding us often becomes an afterthought when we experience it every day. From the perspective of an outsider, I am fortunate to bring attention to the beauty I see, that there is something seductive in the afternoon light, in the abandoned sign on an old petrol station, on a cobblestone pathway or outside on the peeling paint of a front door...

As I continue to create and explore new places and ideas, I find beauty not only in the world around me, but also in the people who generously share their stories. I delight in sharing my unique vision of the world with others who also enjoy a sense of discovery and wonder. I love sharing the architecture I come across in my travels, the genius loci, the special light, the colors of the setting sun on a skyline -- and while painting on silk is my métier, I relish exploring artistic ideas in other mediums. My mission is to bring beauty into the world and share it far and wide.

Brief Resume

René D. Shoemaker 
PO Box 761, Athens GA 30603 United States | Juchefaux - St. Maixant - 23200 - France
rene.shoemaker@gmail.com | www.reneshoemaker.com | 706.424.4739 

2018
Education
1993 Master of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
1971 Bachelor of Fine Arts, focus in Fabric Design, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2012 Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, "Drawing: Points of Departure" with Susan Goethel Campbell
2006 Appalachian Center for the Arts, "Layers of Color, Layers of Meaning" with Suzanne Gernandt

Commissioned site-specific installations
2015-16 Discovering the Chattahoochee Valley. Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
2012 Passages II. Ramsey Student Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2007 Passages. Ramsey Student Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2006 Succession. Heyward Allen Toyota, Athens, GA
2004 Kind Words Rising. Ramsey Student Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Museum Permanent Collections
2016 Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA

Solo Exhibitions
2018 . Felletin et ses villages / Felletin and its Villages. La Mairie de Felletin, Felletin, France
2018 Flâneries en Aubusson./ Strolls around Aubusson, Galerie AM'Carts, Aubusson, France
2017 La memoire et le lieu / Memory and Place. La Mairie de Felletin, Felletin, France
2017 La rentrée. Ciné, Athens, GA
2017 Meet the Artist. Creature Comforts, Athens, GA
2017 Works on Paper. JJ’s 5 Points, Athens, GA
2017 Recent Works. Heirloom Café & Fresh Market, Athens, GA
2015-16 Discovering the Chattahoochee Valley. Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
2016 The Café Experience. Cafe Grumpy, Grand Central Station, NY
2016 The Café Experience. Cafe Grumpy, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY
2014 Un Café, S’il Vous Plaît - 18th. Café Lomi, 75018 Paris, France
2014 Un Café, S’il Vous Plaît - 4th. La Caféothèque de Paris, 75004 Paris, France
2014 Coffee & the Café Experience at Home & Abroad. The Grit, Athens, GA
2013 Coffee!..it’s the experience. Hendershot’s, Athens, GA
2010 Village Details: A walk from the West to the East Village, and what I saw along the way, Shade, New York City
2010 Discovering Monroe. Monroe Art Guild, Monroe, GA
2009 Orr2: Interpreting the Legacy - an artistic interpretation of Fred J. Orr's architecture, Circle Gallery, College of Environment & Design, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2005 Other Places. The Last Resort, Athens, GA
2004 Rediscovering the Neighborhood. Shade, New York City
2004 The Other Side of Athens. Aurum Studios, Athens, GA
2003 Observations - the Architecture of Downtown Watkinsville. Watkinsville Public Library, Watkinsville, GA
2002 From Here to There. Clayton Street Gallery, Athens, GA
2001 Ethereal Spaces – (1st solo gallery exhibit!) Clayton Street Gallery, Athens, GA

Instruction/Teaching
2016-18 Silk Painting Workshops. KAArtist Gallery, Athens, GA
2016 Silk Painting Workshop. Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
2016 Silk Painting Workshop. Private, Athens, GA
2015 Silk Painting Workshop. Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
2014 Linoleum Print Workshop. Chilango, Paris, France
2012 Silk Painting Workshop. The Loft, Athens, GA
2012 Indigo Dyeing Workshop. CCP Studio, Arnoldsville, GA
2012 Shibori Workshop. ARROW, Athens, GA
2011 Silk Painting Workshop.The Loft, Athens, GA
2011 Dyeing Workshop. ARROW, Athens, GA

Memberships
American Craft Council
Surface Design Association
Costume Society of America
Athens Area Arts Council
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation

Publications 2018 Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA 2016 The Muse. Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
2015 Uppercase Compendium of Craft & Creativity. Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2016-17 Flagpole Magazine. Athens, GA
2009 Shaping the American Landscape. University of Virginia Press, VA
2005 Athens Sketchbook. Indigo Publishing, Macon, GA

Awards + Honorable Mentions
2016 Historic Columbus Foundation. Columbus, GA
Preservation Award: “Discovering the Chattahoochee Valley”
2015 40th Annual Lyndon House Juried Exhibit. Lyndon House Art Center, Athens GA
Merit Award: “'Night Time, Auzances, Limousin, France”
2013 Monroe Art Guild 18th Annual Winter Art Show. Monroe Art Guild, Monroe, GA
Honorable Mention: "Kennedy Road Beaver Pond, Oconee County, GA"
2011 36th Annual Lyndon House Juried Exhibit. Lyndon House Art Center, Athens GA
Honorable Mention: "YWCA Building, Hancock & Pulaski"
2009 Summer Members Show. Monroe Art Guild, Monroe, GA
Honorable Mention: "YWCA Building - Facade, Athens, GA”
2008 Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. Athens, GA
Preservation Award. Co-curator “Fred J. Orr, Architect, Athens, GA”

Group Exhibitions
1998-2017 Participated in 76 group exhibitions.

Curatorial Work
1994-2009 Director + Exhibit Curator, Circle Gallery, College of Environment & Design, University of Georgia. Athens, GA; See www.ced.uga.edu/pdfs/cv/shoemaker.pdf for complete list of exhibits curated