My work is a balance between process and play. I coax forms into existence using additive and subtractive methods, regardless of the media employed. I latch on to a media as I develop a series of works: slicing, stitching and adhering together textiles and industrial materials to create compositions and objects; forming arterial connections with yarn, felt, and ropes; and manipulating foam and plaster to amass forms that edge towards the uncanny. I revel in repetition and succumb to the process of making, not knowing where it might lead. My explorations allow pieces to emerge, as I willingly trust in the possibility of the outcome: the familiar gone astray.
Fei Disbrow has shown her work in solo & group exhibitions throughout the US & Canada. She has lived and worked in both countries, earning her MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and her BA in Urban Economic Geography from the University of British Columbia. She was recently a guest artist at the Material Matters Research Lab, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, and has participated in additional residencies at the Vermont Studio Centre, Johnson, VT; Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity; and in the Intermedia Department at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR. Disbrow was commissioned for a site-specific outdoor installation by the Art Gallery at Evergreen in Coquitlam, granted the MST Bronze Award from the Canadian Sculpture Centre, Toronto, and awarded a public art grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Portland. Disbrow served on the board of Access Gallery, Vancouver, from 2016 to 2019. Her work is in private, corporate and public collections, including the Portland Art Museum. She is represented by Gallery Jones, Vancouver and FriesenSolo in Idaho.
Exhibitions
Solo
2023 Threshold and the Gut, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2022 Creep, Site-specific Commission, Art Gallery at Evergreen Coquitlam, BC
2021 Vignette Exhibition, Friesen + Lantz Gallery Sun Valley, ID
2020 Catalogue of Stitches, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2020 The Space Between, Friesen Gallery Sun Valley, ID
2018 Beginning with Absence, Friesen Gallery Sun Valley, ID
2014 Something is Dreaming This, Initial Gallery Vancouver, BC
2013 Corpus Series, Buy Some Damn Art Brooklyn, NY
2008 Open, Gladstone Hotel Toronto, ON
2005 Next, IMAG Gallery, Pacific NW College of Art Portland, OR
Group
2023 Fashion Fictions, Vancouver Art Gallery Vancouver, BC
2021 Making Home, Fort Gallery Fort Langley, BC
2021 Small Scale, Right Hemisphere: Part 2, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2018 The Space, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2018 Interspace, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2017 Flat-ish, Gallery Jones Vancouver, BC
2017 GLUE, The Tent Gallery Evolution House Edinburgh, Scotland
2014 Fiber Fever, Foundry Art Centre St. Charles, MO
2014 Cutting up Culture, Art in Transit, Pattison shopping mall network Cities across Canada
2013 Today, from yesterday and tomorrow, Gallery 918 Toronto, ON
2013 Assemblage Group Show, Initial Gallery Vancouver, BC
2012 Hard Twist 7: Touch Me, Feel Me, Gladstone Hotel Toronto, ON
2010 The Drawing Room, Pendulum Gallery Vancouver, BC
2010 Incubate, Hybrid Gallery Portland, OR
2006 8th Annual Juried Emerging Sculptors Exhibition, Canadian Sculpture Centre Toronto, ON
2006 The Print Show, John B. Aird Gallery Toronto, ON
2005 Porous Borders, The Portland Building Portland, OR
2004 Cultural Radar, Richard M. Ross Art Museum, Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH
2004 PNCA Faculty Show, Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR
2003 any coming into existence: the birth of an idea, Forum Gallery Bloomfield Hills, MI
2003 Xchange, Wayne Community Arts Gallery, Wayne State University Detroit, MI
Education
2002-2004 Cranbrook Art Academy Bloomfield Hills, MI
Master of Fine Arts: Sculpture
2000-2002 Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR
Fine Arts: Printmaking
1990-1994 University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC
Bachelor of Arts: Urban Economic Geography
Residencies + Grants
2021/2023 Guest Artist, Material Matters Research Lab, Emily Carr University of Art + Design Vancouver, BC
2018 Artist in Residence, Vermont Studio Centre Johnson, VT
2015 Artist in Residence, Independent residency, Banff Centre of the Arts Banff, AB
2008 Guest Renter Program, Open Studio Toronto, ON
2005 Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant, Portland Building Installation Portland, OR
2004-2005 Intermedia Department Residency, Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR
Art Fairs
2023 Plural Foire d’art contemporain,, Gallery Jones Montreal, QC
2020 Art on Paper, Gallery Jones New York, NY
2019 Art Toronto, Gallery Jones Toronto, ON
2019 Seattle Art Fair, Gallery Jones Seattle, WA
2017 Art Toronto, Gallery Jones Toronto, ON
2016 Papier 16, Franc Gallery Montreal, QC
2015 Papier 15, Initial Gallery Montreal, QC
2014 Art Toronto, Initial Gallery Toronto, ON
Talks + Boards
2018 Artist talk + studio tour, Contemporary Art Gallery Young Patrons Vancouver, BC
2017 Artist talk, Friesen Gallery Sun Valley, ID
2016-2019 Vice President + Strategic Initiatives Co-Chair, Board of Directors, Access Gallery Vancouver, BC
2015 Artist talk, Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Vancouver, BC
2005 Artist talk, Intermedia Department, Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR
Publications
2021 Simultaneous Explorations, by Sara Genn, The Painter's Keys
https://painterskeys.com/simultaneous-explorations/
2017 Beginning with Absence, Fei Disbrow’s debut at Friesen Gallery, by Yanna Lantz, The Weekly Sun
2017 Speculators of the Final Frontier, by Sunshine Frere, SAD magazine https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bda1b41ec4eb716fb8c14b1/t/5c0b008d8a922d01cf8073d2/1544224921918/Speculators-of-the-Final-Frontier.pdf
2016 Seven Questions for Fei Disbrow, interview by Sunshine Frere, Thrive Art Studio Blog