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BIO

Doug DeWitt is a Chicago-area artist and ecologist whose multi-disciplinary work is inspired by natural history and Midwest landscapes. Originally from northwestern Ohio, DeWitt spent many childhood hours exploring his grandparents’ farm buildings and catching crawdads in the creek near his home. He received a BFA in graphic design from Bowling Green State University in 1985, then moved to New England to experience the coastal landscape while working in Boston. Returning to the Midwest, DeWitt earned an MA in Studio Arts from Illinois State University in 1990. He designed exhibits featuring natural history, wildlife and anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History and John G. Shedd Aquarium, both in Chicago, where his love of nature, science and history merged with his art. DeWitt exhibits his artwork throughout the Chicago region and beyond. He is currently an ecologist and land manager with Tallgrass Restoration, LLC, a private firm that restores native prairies, woodlands and wetlands, a profession that continues to inspire his art.


CV/RESUME

Education

1990 Master of Arts, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
1985 Bachelor of Fine Arts, (cum laude), Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

One Person Exhibitions

2023
-Ground Truthing, Fine Line Creative Arts Center, St. Charles, IL
-Selections from A Change in the Weather, Guest Artist, Positive Space Studios, Mundelein, IL
-Material Witness, Doug DeWitt and Dan Addington, Brandt Gallery, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, IL
-Depth of Field, Komechak Gallery, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL

2022
-Suggestions of Gravity, Dulgar Gallery, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL
-HEDGEROW, Noyes Cultural Arts Center, Evanston, IL
-Winter Thaw- Routes Through the Landscape, The HUB Arts & Cultural Center, Rushville, IL
-Suggestions of Gravity, Sonnenschein Gallery, Lake Forest, IL
-Into Sunrise, Albright Gallery, Lake Forest, IL

2021
-Depth of Field, Water Street Studios & Gallery, Batavia, IL

2020
-Suggestions of Gravity, Gallery Seven, Lockport, IL

2019
-A Change in the Weather, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
-Ground Truthing, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
-More Than Once (two person exhibit), Gallery Studio Oh!, Chicago, IL

2018
-A Change in the Weather, Epping Gallery, McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL

2017
-Senescence, Ignition Project Space, Chicago, IL

2016
-Then to Now: A Mini Retrospective, Smith Gallery, Barrington, IL
-Elemental, Armstrong Gallery, McLean County Art Center, Bloomington, IL

2014
-Off Trail – Recent Works, Burgess Hall Art Gallery, Eureka College, Eureka, IL

2011
-Landscapes, Anna Eaton Stout Gallery, Brescia University, Owensboro, KY

1999
-Riverside Art Center, Riverside, IL

1994
-Mindy Oh Gallery, Chicago, IL (reviews: T. Connors, Sculpture Magazine; A. Artner, Chicago Tribune)

1993
-Solomon's Ring, installation, Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago, IL

1990
-Constructions and Drawings, Up Front Gallery, Bloomington, IL
-Master of Arts Exhibition, Illinois State University, Normal, IL

1989
-Up Front Gallery, Bloomington, IL

1985
-BFA Exhibition, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

Group Exhibitions

2024
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-A New Language: Speaking with the Earth, curated by Pauline Kochanski, Xiao Space, Evanston, IL
-Alumni Spectacular, University Galleries, ISU, Normal, IL

2023
-Lure of the Local- Drawing You In, Mundelein, IL
-Short Stories, Long Views, Three Person Exhibit with John Hatlestad and Eric Rosell, Waubonsee Community College, Waubonsee, IL
-Short Stories, Long Views, Three Person Exhibit with John Hatlestad and Eric Rosell, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2022
-Responding to Rhythm, Chicago Sculpture International, Beverly Arts Center, Beverly, IL. Juror: Nathan Peck
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Small Scale Sculpture Survey Part 2- Curators Gone Rogue; Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL
-The Painter's Pedagogy- The work of Harold Gregor & Students, McLean Co Arts Center, Bloomington, IL
-Nature vs Nurture, The Art Center Highland Park, IL
-Abstraction, The Art Center Highland Park, IL, Juror: Cleveland Dean

2021
-The Thin Line, The Art Center- Highland Park, Highland Park, IL

2020
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Decade, Art in City Hall, Art Center Highland Park, Highland Park, IL

2019
-Regional Juried Exhibit, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL, Juror: Victor Armendariz
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-7th Annual Competition, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, Jurors: Stano Grezdo & Joyce Owens
-Studio Visit Magazine, Juror: Mike Lash
-Moving Image 00:05, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL
-Vernal Equinox: Spring Awakens, Plum Creek Nature Center, Beecher, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2018
-Through the Cracks the Light Gets In, Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL, Juror: Douglas Stapleton
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Art on the Edge, Edge Center Gallery, Bigfork, MN, Juror: Peter Spooner
-Regional Juried Exhibit, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Cabinet of Curiosities, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
-The Art of Illinois, Gallery Seven, Joliet, IL
-Chicago Sculpture International Biennial: Design is a Verb, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
-Contemporary Nature, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
-eco-ART: The Art of Human Interaction with the Environment – The Art Center, Highland Park, IL
-Biomimicry – Redefining Nature through Art, Kavanagh Gallery, St. Charles, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2017
-Regional Juried Exhibit, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL, Juror: Dan Addington
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-The Art of Illinois, Gallery Seven, Joliet, IL
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Sculpture at the Kavanagh, Kavanagh Gallery, St. Charles, IL
-5th Annual Competition, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, Jurors: Fred Camper, James Yood
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2016
-The Art of Illinois, Gallery Seven, Joliet, IL
-Regional Juried Exhibit, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL, Juror: Sergio Gomez
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Art Moves Des Plaines, Pop Up Gallery, Des Plaines, IL
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL, Best in Show Runner Up
-True to Form, Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso, IN
-micro<MACRO, Armstrong Gallery, McLean County Art Center, Bloomington, IL
-Making Nature, Fine Arts Center Gallery, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2015
-Biosphere=Nature/Humans, Mary-Frances & Bill Veeck Gallery, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, IL
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Embarrassment of Riches, Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Dekalb, IL
-Alumni Exhibition, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Flights of Fancy, Northbrook Public Library, Northbrook, IL
-Sculpture Invasion 2015, Koehnline Museum of Art, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL
-4th Fridays- April, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL (honorable mention award)
-Artists as Visionaries: Climate Crisis Solutions, Water Street Studios, Batavia, IL
-3rd Annual Competition, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, Second Prize, 3 Dimensional
-Finding Latitude; Doug DeWitt/Ginny Krueger, The Art Center, Highland Park, IL
-Art at City Hall, The Art Center, Highland Park, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2014
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-Minute Musings, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
-Spring Show, Water Street Studios, Batavia, IL
-The Nature of Things (25th Anniversary of the Gray House Show), Jan Brandt Gallery, Bloomington, IL
-4th Fridays- January, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2013
-4th Fridays- October, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Recent Works, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
-4th Fridays- February, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Members Exhibition, Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

2012
-Stars Garden, Peterson Garden Project, Chicago, IL- outdoor installation
-Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL
-Dendrology: The Nature of Trees, Noyes Museum of Art, Stockton College, Oceanville, NJ
-Genius Loci: Listening to Nature’s Muse, Brushwood, Ryerson Woods, Deerfield, IL

2011
-Art of the Land, The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, Starline Factory, Harvard, IL

2010
-Alumni Exhibition, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL

2004
-New Views: Contemporary Visions of the Landscape, Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL

1999
-Sightings, Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL

1998
-Nature as Metaphor, Kishwaukee College Art Gallery, Malta, IL
-Natural History 101, Concourse Gallery, Upper Arlington, OH

1997
-Juno Moneta, Mindy Oh Gallery, New York, NY

1996
-Cultured Pearl, Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
-Cultured Pearl, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea

1994
-Cultured Pearl, Mindy Oh Gallery, Chicago, IL
-A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL
-Homage to Camus, Mindy Oh Gallery, Chicago, IL
-A.R.C. Gallery Regional Exhibition, Chicago, IL

1993
-12x12, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL
-Group Show, Greenleaf Art Center, Chicago, IL
-Members Show, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL

1992
-Just Good Art, Benefit Auction, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL

1990
-Truth as Metaphor, Gwenda Jay Gallery, Chicago, IL
-New Horizons, North Shore Art League, Winnetka, IL
-Illinois State University Annual Student Art Exhibition, Normal, IL
-63rd Annual McLean County Art Exhibition, Bloomington, IL
-Vital Signs, N.A.M.E. Gallery, Chicago, IL
-Jones 1990 All-Illinois Graduate Art Exhibition, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
-Flora 90, Chicago Botanical Garden, Glencoe, IL

1989
-6th Annual Works on Paper Exhibit, Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL
-Illinois State University Annual Student Art Exhibition, Normal, IL
-62nd Annual McLean County Art Exhibition, Bloomington, IL
-The Gray House Show, Up Front Gallery, Bloomington, IL

1988
-New Members Exhibition, Up Front Gallery, Bloomington, IL
-Graduate Biennial, Illinois State University, Normal, IL

1985
-BFA Exhibition, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
-Invitational Drawing Exhibition, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

1982-5
-BGSU Annual Fine Arts Exhibitions, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH

Press (selected)
3/15 Lake County Journal
1/11 Way of the Wilds
1/99 DeKalb MidWeekEnder and DeKalb Daily Chronicle (Ben Mahmoud)
1/95 Sculpture Magazine, Thomas Connors
7/94 Chicago Tribune, Alan Artner
7/93; 7/94 Chicago Reader

Awards and Honors
-Honorable Mention, Regional Juried Exhibit, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, IL, 2017
-Best in Show Runner Up, Art of the Land, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL, 2016
-Second Prize, 3 Dimensional, 3rd Annual Competition, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, 2015
-Honorable Mention, 4th Fridays- April, Starline Gallery, Harvard, IL, 2015