Margo Linn Espenlaub, Ph.D.
Visual Artist and Writer
Gallery Affiliation: Spark Gallery, Denver

Artist Statement

Surprise is what I look for in abstract drawing. Cloud formations, wave patterns, oval and curvilinear forms, both real and imagined, inform my process. Looking closely at textural details in fibers and fabrics, I see folds, pleats, and undulating surfaces that convey light and shadow, which, in turn, alter colors and values. And with the addition of linear elements, such as plinths, walls, and doorways, the process of drawing can often lead to captivating and surprising results.

Biographical Statement

Margo Linn Espenlaub has exhibited her art in various Colorado venues and at the Fermoy Arts Centre in Kings Lynn, England. Drawings and large scale canvas constructions have been shown at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, the Denver Art Museum, the Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction, and in Denver area galleries. Former gallery affiliation was with the Atwell Gallery of Contemporary Art in Colorado Springs.

She has written on the history of Front Range Women in the Visual Arts. Her essay, “Modeling Action for a Decade,” was published in the exhibition catalogue for the groups’ retrospective exhibit at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in 2000. She is author of “Women in the Arts: Perspectives on Gender and Creativity,” published in Women’s Studies: Thinking Women (1993; 1994) and has taught courses in women’s art and autobiography at Colorado Women’s College, University of Denver and the Institute for Women’s Studies and Services, Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Artist Resume

Education
Ph.D. Women’s Studies in Literature, Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, Ohio
M.H. Master of Humanities, University of Colorado, Denver,
B.A. University of Colorado, Denver

Academic Experience
Faculty and Academic Administration, University of Denver – Colorado Women’s College, 1998-2014
Faculty, Metropolitan State University of Denver – Institute for Women’s Studies and Services, 1987-1998

Research Grant
Independent Scholar, Front Range Women in the Visual Arts, Colorado Endowment for the Humanities, 1999-2000

Exhibitions Chair
National Committee, Women’s Caucus for Art, 1998-2000

Curator
“Celebrating Women’s Her/History: Past, Present, and Future,” Colorado Women’s Caucus for Art, EDGE Gallery, Denver, March 1996

Author
“Modeling Action for a Decade: Front Range Women in the Visual Arts,” Elbows and Tea Leaves. Exhibition Catalogue. Boulder, Colorado. Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 2000.
“Acting Our Age: the Art of Helen Redman’s Crone Work,” Birthing the Crone: Aging into Full Creativity, 1986-2000. Exhibition Catalogue. San Diego, California, 2000.
“Women in the Arts: Perspectives on Gender and Creativity.” Women’s Studies: Thinking Women. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1993; revised printing, 1994.

Presentations on Women in the Arts
“Front Range Women in the Visual Arts, 1974-2000,” Women’s Studies Faculty Research Sharing, University of Denver, October 16, 2000 (invited presenter)
“History and Process: Front Range Women in the Visual Arts,” Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, July 12, 2000 (invited presenter)
“Modeling Action for a Decade: Front Range Women in the Visual Arts,” Front Range Feminist Scholars, Denver, Colorado, February 11, 2000 (invited paper)