Welcome to Montana Marie
Art & Design
Mission Statement
Our mission at Montana Marie Art & Design is to create artwork that glorifies God and speaks to the experiences we share in our time on this earth. It is our hope that the artwork we create will speak directly to the hearts of our viewers and point toward our Heavenly Father.
Meet The Artist
Montana Marie Becker grew up on a Hereford beef cattle farm in Princeton, Minnesota. She attributes her fascination with landscape to the years she spent growing up on the farm exploring the acreage of her childhood home.
Montana chose to attend the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) where she received her BA in Studio Art and Political Science in May of 2020. While studying at UMM, Montana's interest in landscape deepened and she began to test the boundaries of objectivity and abstraction, while also developing a varied interest in paint mediums.
Today Montana's work focuses primarily on unpacking landscape as abstract concept. While some of her work remains objective, much of her current body of work is abstract or non-objective. Montana works primarily with painting processes, but also incorporates some drawing, fiber arts and semi-sculptural techniques into her process.
Montana gathers much of her conceptual inspiration from her personal faith walk. Montana is a born again Christian who believes strongly that her art is reflective of the struggles she faces in her own walk with God. Her mission in making artwork is to communicate her own journey while also creating work that is relatable for her viewer. Montana says," The way in which we experience the world chains us together and enables us to share with one another. This is, I believe, the power and the purpose behind my work. I’m not concerned with who my work is for or how many individuals are impacted by it. My work is for those who need it."
Upcoming Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition
April 2023
Rum River Art Center, Anoka, MN
Solo Exhibition
June 2023
Waseca Art Center , Waseca, MN
One Narrative
October 2022
Argyle Zebra Gallery, St.Paul, MN
Once and Again Juried Show
October 2021
The Edward J. & Helen Jane Morrison Gallery, University of Minnesota Morris, Morris, MN
MacRostie Art Center Juried Show
September 2021
MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is largely focused on non-objective abstraction, but my original inspiration stems from a fascination with landscape. My work tends to range from tight realistic landscapes to fully non-objective work with a more atmospheric tone. I like working in this range because it allows me to hone my skill while also making new inquiries into the potential of landscape as an abstract concept.
With regard to mediums, I work primarily with paint mediums. However, I am also drawn to photography and some sculpture practices. When my studio space allows for it, I prefer to work on a very large scale. I am fascinated by the physicality involved in artmaking and working on a larger scale offers me more physical freedom in my mark making. Much of my process involves layering mediums and excavating organic forms to create a sense of order within seemingly random marks. My excavation often goes beyond the surface of my work. More recently I have experimented with cutting through surfaces and stitching into surfaces with embroidery thread. I believe that my interest in excavating the physical painting surfaces is tied to the fact that a painting surface is in some ways its own landscape. I believe this is an inquiry that could strongly influence my work in the future.
Much of my current and past work sets landscape/environment as a metaphor for human experience. Human experience is frequently marked by our visual and emotional understanding of the landscapes we move through. Our own perception of life is in many ways a landscape we create for ourselves, and our journey through life is a landscape we create as we live. I cannot communicate someone else's experience, but I can share my own. The abstracted landscapes and atmospheric imagery I create is an attempt to visually capture the emotional physical landscapes of my own life. The purpose here is not to highlight my own experience, but to allow my viewer an opportunity to see themselves. While each human heart is exquisitely unique, we are also fundamentally the same. The way in which we experience the world chains us together and enables us to share with one another. This is, I believe, the power and the purpose behind my work. I’m not concerned with who my work is for or how many individuals are impacted by it. My work is for those who need it.
Gallery
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."