Artist's Statement / Biography   I have had a lifelong interest in the history and theory of art and started painting in my youth in Germany, always equally drawn to abstract compositions and representational landscapes. The demands of my professional career in the field of literature previously allowed only sporadic indulgence in painting. My specialization has been German literature and culture from the 19th century to the present, with emphasis on East German and postunification literature, lyric poetry, as well as interdisciplinary studies in literature and ecology. I have published five books and numerous articles and reviews and am co-editor of Glossen, an online scholarly journal on literature and art in the German speaking countries (www.dickinson.edu/glossen). A professor emeritus at the University of Iowa, I moved to New England in summer 2005 (residing first in York, Maine, and since the end of 2010 in Hampton, NH), and am now devoting almost full time to exploring new possibilities of artistic expression. I have participated in various juried exhibitions in Maine and New Hampshire. In recent years I have turned to more or less representational imagined and real landscapes, inspired by the seacoast of New England, Florida, and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. My preferred media are oil and pastel, but occasionally I also work with acrylics.   Membership in Art Associations York Art Association Kittery Art Association Hampton Arts Network Art Guild of the Kennebunks, Juried Member River Tree Arts, Kennebunk Pastel Painters of Maine Pastel Society of New Hampshire New Hampshire Art Association, Juried Member                                                       Group Exhibitions    2012   New Hampshire Art Association: Small Works Gallery, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, ongoing; Seeing Red, February 1-26  Exhibition in Drift Away Restaurant (10 paintings), North Hampton, NH, August 1, 2011 - ongoing Hampton Arts Network: Exhibition in Marelli's Market, Hampton, NH, November 17, 2011 - ongoing   2011   Art Guild of the Kennebunks:June Exhibition, The Community House, Kennebunkport, ME, June 24-26; July Exhibition, Kennebunkport, ME, July 22-24; August Exhibition, Kennebunkport, ME, August 19-21 York Art Association: Art and Bloom (juried), April 28 - May 29; Annual Show (juried), June 30 - July 31; Summer Show: The World Around You (Juried), August 4-28; Fall Open Juried Show: Out of the Ordinary, September 1-25 (Second Place Award); Abstract Art Exhibition (Open Juried), November 3-20. River Tree Arts, Irvine Gallery, Kennebunk, ME: Splendid Splashes (juried), April 8 - 30; The Maine Scene (juried), June 17 - July 23; Prelude / Clothesline Art Show, November 17 - January 2  New Hampshire Art Association: Small Works Gallery, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, ongoing; New Hampshire: Now and Then, January 5 - February 25; Red, White, and Blue, June 1 - 24; Prescott Park Arts Festival Open Juried Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH, June 24 - August 21; Best of the Best, June 29 - August 26; Views of the World Today Through the Artist's Eye, October 5-28; 12th Annual Joan L. Dunfey Memorial Open Juried Exhibition, November 2-25; $200 and Under - Ready to Go! and $200 and Up - Art for Holiday Giving, November 30 - December 31 Kittery Art Association: Reflections, January 15 - February 6; Passion, February 10 - March 6; Garden Party, May 26 - June 19; Going Green, June 23 - July 17; Holiday Art Show, December 10-18  Pastel Society of New Hampshire: 6th Annual Members Exhibition, Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH, April 1 - May 15; 3rd Annual National Juried Exhibition: It's Pastel!, Discover Portsmouth Center Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, September 10 - October 29 Pastel Painters of Maine: Fall Members' Show, Kennebunk, ME, October 7-29 (Honorable Mention Award) Exhibition in Drift Away Restaurant (10 paintings), North Hampton, NH, August 1 - ongoing Hampton Arts Network: Hampton Art Walk, October 6-7; Exhibition in Marelli's Market, Hampton, NH, November 17 - Two Person Invitational Exhibition (with Ellen Pelletier), N. W. Barrett Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, October 1 - November 15   2010   New Hampshire Art Association: Small Works Gallery, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, ongoing; Strictly Watercolor and Pastel, June 9 - July 9; New Hampshire Seacoast Summerscapes, Prescott Park Arts Festival Open Juried Exhibition, Portsmouth, NH, June 26 - August 22; Brushstrokes: Oil and Acrylic, July 14 - August 27; 11th Annual Joan L. Dunfey Open Juried Exhibition, November 3-26; $200 and under - Ready to Go! and Art for Holiday Giving, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, December 1-31 Museums of Old York’s Annual Decorator Show House, Juried Art Exhibit, York, ME, July 17 – August 24 River Tree Center For the Arts, The Maine Scene (Juried), Kennebunk, ME, July 2 - 30; Prelude at River Tree Arts, Kennebunk, ME, December 4 - January 8, 2011 Art Guild of the Kennebunks: Diversity, June Exhibition, The Community House, Kennebunkport, NH, June 25 - 27; July Exhibition, Kennebunkport, ME, July 23 - 25;  August Exhibition (Annual Awards Exhibition), August 20 - 22 Kittery Art Association: Jewels in the Stream (6 Person Show with M. P. Hopkins, Peter Moak, Polly Moak, Judith B J Totman, and Poetry by Elizabeth Kirschner), June 24 - July 18; Happy Hour, July 22 - August 15; The Dark Side, October 14 - November 7 York Art Association: The Many Moods of York County, March 18 - April 4; Spring Show (Juried), April 23 - May 9; Pastels and Oils (4 Person Show with Leslie Doherty, Claudette Gamache, and Ellen Pelletier), May 13 - 30; Annual Show (Juried), July 1 - 18; Summer Show (Juried), August 12 - 29; Fall Show, September 2 - 26 (2nd Place Award; Honorable Mention Award); Art in the Park Members' Tent, September 11 Pastel Society of New Hampshire: 5th Annual Members' Exhibition, Red Roof Gallery, Enfield, NH, April 10 - May 8; Annual National Juried Exhibition: It's Pastel!, Discover Portsmouth Center, Portsmouth, NH, September 18 - October 3 Pastel Painters of Maine: Fall Members' Show, River Tree Arts, Kennebunk, ME, November 12-27 (3rd Place Award)                                                                                                   2009   York Art Association: Spring Show (Juried), May 8 – May 31; Annual Juried Show, July 3 – 26; Summer Juried Show, July 31 – August 23; Pastel and Watercolor Show (Juried), August 28 – September 13 (2nd Place Award); Fall Juried Show, September 18 – October 11; Harvestfest Art Show, Museums of Old York, October 17, 2009: Small Paintings Show, Nov. 13 – Dec. 6 Kittery Art Association: Five Visions (Small Group Show of 5 Artists), June 25 – July 19; Art in Bloom / Artists’ Choice, July 23 – August 23; Holiday Show, Dec. 12 - 20 New Hampshire Art Association: Altered Images, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, Jan. 1 – Feb. 1; “Art is Alive and Kickin’”, NHAA’s 23rd Annual Omer T. Lassonde  Juried Exhibition, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, May 6 – May 29; New Members’ Show, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, June 3 – 26; Prescott Park Open Juried Show “The Art of Water,”  Portsmouth, NH, June 27 – August 23; “15% Artists’ Choice Show,” Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, July 1 – August 28; UNH – Manchester Graduate Center Exhibit, August 27, 2009 - January 30, 2010; Seacoast Science Center, September 12 – December 20; "$200 and Under," and "Art for Holiday Giving" Shows at Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, Dec. 2, 2009 - Jan. 8, 2010; Seacoast Fine Art & Gift Market, North Hampton, NH, Dec 11 - 13 Pastel Society of New Hampshire: Fourth Annual Members’ Exhibition, Stockbridge Theatre Gallery at Pinkerton Academy, Derry, NH, March 22 – April 19 (Barbara B. Danser Founders Award) Pastel Painters of Maine: 10th International Juried Exhibition “For Pastels Only,” Saco Museum, Saco, ME, June 5 – 28; Members’ Show, Carver Hill Gallery, Rockport, ME, October 8 – 14; Members’ Show “Light To Dark,” River Tree Center for the Arts, Kennebunk, ME, Nov. 6 – Dec. 10 2009 Artists of the Seacoast Exhibit (Families First), Discover Portsmouth Center, Portsmouth, NH, April  25 – May 25 Museums of Old York’s 20th Annual Decorator Show House, Juried Art Exhibit, York, ME, July 18 – August 15   2008   York Art Association: Spring Show (Juried), May 23 - June 22; Annual Show (Juried), June 27- August 3; Summer Show (Juried), August 8 - September 7;  Fall Show (Juried), Sept. 12 - Oct. 5; Art in the Park, September 13; Small Painting Show, Nov. 14 - Dec 7 Kittery Art Association, Golden Anniversary Show, April 3 - 27; Essentials, July 17- August 10; Essence of the Season, Oct. 9 – Nov. 2; Holiday Show, Dec. 11 – 21 New Hampshire Art Association: Small Works Gallery, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, Sept. 2008 – to present; Art for Holiday Giving, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, Oct. 29 - Dec. 28; Art Emporium, Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, Portsmouth, NH, Nov. 26 - Dec. 28 Pastel Society of New Hampshire: 2008 Members’ Exhibition, Manchester, NH, June 25 - July 26; New England Juried Show: It’s Pastel, Newport, NH, September 19 – October 18, (Soltek Easel Award) Pastel Painters of Maine: Members’ Show, River Tree Center for the Arts, Kennebunk, ME, Nov. 7 - Dec. 7 River Tree Center For the Arts, The Maine Scene (Juried), Kennebunk, ME, July 18 - September 2 Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, LightPaint Show: The Beautiful Seacoast, New Castle, NH, August 9 -10   2007   York Art Association; Spring Show (Juried), May 25 - June 24; Annual Show (Juried), June 29 - July 29; Summer Show (Juried), August 3 - September 9; Fall Show (Juried), September 14 - October 14; Art in the Park, September 15 Kittery Art Association: Kaleidoscope, June 21- July 15; Water, Water, Water, August 16 - September 16; Holiday Sale, December 8 - December 16 Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse, LightPaint Show, New Castle, NH, August 25 – 26   Solo Exhibitions York Public Library, Landscape Paintings (22 paintings), York, ME, May 7-July 1, 2008 York Public Library, Landscapes in Pastel and Oil (22 paintings), York, ME, August 28 – November 3, 2009 York Public Library, New England Landscapes in Pastel (20 paintings), York, ME, November 4, 2010 - January 4, 2011 York Public Library, New England Landscapes in Pastel and Oil (18 paintings), York, ME, September 8 - November 2, 2011   Education    Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania (1975) M.A., University of New Hampshire (1970) B.A., Philipps University of Marburg, Germany   Professional Positions   Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa (2006 - ) Professorships at University of Iowa (1977-2006, Department Chair, 1988-1996, 1999),  Swarthmore College (1976-1977), lecturer at University of Pennsylvania (1974-1976) Resident Director, Academic Year in Freiburg, Germany (2000-2001, 2004-2005) (Click here for my CV at the University of Iowa.)