Mary Mihelic received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Parsons the New School for Design in 2006. Since then, her artworks have been shown in New York City and around the nation. Prior to getting her M.F.A., Mary studied art extensively at the Museum School in Boston and at the SMFA’s programs in Venice, Italy.
As a contemporary artist, she focuses on feminism, spirituality and politics. An excerpt from her artist statement reads, “In a time when people are leaving churches in record numbers and the historic relationship between religion and the art world has washed away, I make art about those things that bring us to our knees and humble us: the power of the ocean, the meltdown of a nuclear power plant, the courage of 53 school girls running for their lives... the moments that transcend religion.” She is fascinated by the way the imagination makes God a reality in the form of faith. Her undergraduate degree is from Boston College where she majored in English. Her running girls series is influenced by her education at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls Catholic high school near Chicago.
As an artist, she examines what makes us believe anything we don’t see for ourselves. ISIL beheads an American on camera and we first wonder if it is real. We see images showing the horror of chemical weapons in Syria and question their legitimacy. A losing candidate says the election was not legitimate and Americans believe him despite all the evidence to the contrary. She comments on how the real heroes are the protestors. They have the most faith. They are the first to believe.
Mary has exhibited at Sculpture Key West, Exit Art, VOLTA, Smack Mellon, Core Club and Ronald Feldman to name a few.... She has done artist residencies at MASS MOCA (Assets for Artists), Ocean College and Bergen Community College. She has been an invited guest speaker at NYU on Art and Politics and at the International Women’s Day annual event in Washington DC.
She is presently part of the artist team making art about Donald Trump. One of the artworks involved buying a former Trump campaign bus when it went up for sale on Craigslist and transforming it into a contemporary traveling anti-Trump artwork. The art has been featured on The BBC London, The Rachel Maddow Show, Vice, Fuji TV, Deutschland Radio, W Radio South America, Univision, Bete TV, Arte TV and featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Hyperallergic, The LA Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic, USA Today, Artnet, Artnews, Quartz, The Art Newspaper, Artforum, Voice of America (Turkey), The Economist, Newsweek, Business Insider, The Sydney Morning Herald... and publications worldwide. Her Running Girls series has been covered in Artnet, Artnews, the Religous New Service and more.
Mary is also currently part of the comedy writing team for This Week This Week, LA's Premiere Topical Sketch Show (performed live every Thursday at the Open Fist Theatre).
ART EXHIBITIONS
January and February 2021
Riverviews Artspace
Solo Show
Lynchberg, Virginia
Running Girls Series
February and March 2018
Art of the Subconscious
Theta Spring/Contra Studios
New York, New York
Leaky Oil Paintings
Desecration Flag
Spring 2018
VIOLATED! Women in Holocaust and Genocide
Ronald Feldman Gallery
Curator: Dr. Batya Brutin and Academic Advisors
Remember the Women Institute
New York, New York
Selected Running Girl Artworks
May, June July 2017
Core Club
New York, New York
Open Carry: The Right to Bear Art
May 24 through August 19, 2017
Art on the Front Lines
Ronald Feldman Gallery
New York, New York
Desecration Flags
April 2017
REACT
Curated by Jackie Dreier
New York, New York
Trump Campaign Bus
Selected Running Girls
April 2017
INVITED SPEAKER
Art and Politics
New York University, New York
June18-19 2016
Smack Mellon
“Of the People”
Brooklyn, New York
Trump Campaign Bus
March 2016
VOLTA NY
New York, New York
Trump Campaign Bus
Fall 2016
Grunin Center for the Arts
Solo Show
Running Girls Series
Ocean Gallery
Ocean College, Tom's River, New Jersey
Running Girls Series
October 2016
Artist-in-Residence
Grunin Center for the Arts
Running Girls Series
Ocean Gallery
Ocean College, Tom's River, New Jersey
October 2016
Grunin Center for the Arts
Ocean Gallery
Ocean College, Tom's River, New Jersey
Awarded artist grant
Guest Speaker: Beyond the Classroom: Global Education for Girls
Fall 2016
Georgian Court University
Solo Show
November 2016
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
Running Girls Series
Invited Guest Speaker as part of Critical Concerns 2016:
Women's Voices in the Jubilee Year of Mercy
Winter/Spring, 2016
Crane Arts Solo Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Running Girls Series
Fall/Winter 2015
Body Politic
Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center at Gibney Dance
New York, New York
Running Girl 8 (Merci Beaucoup)
October 30 to November 13, 2015
MASS MoCA
Artist Residency
The Studios at MASS MoCA/Assets for Artists
North Adams, Massachusetts
Winter 2016
Conception Art Fair
Represented by Crane Arts, Philadelphia
Miami, Florida
Running Girl Artworks and Installation
Spring 2015
The Cornell University Johnson Museum
Special Event
April 25th, 2015
Curated by visiting scholar Dr. Joan Osa Oviawe
Running Girl Artworks
Fall, 2015
Osilas Gallery
Sept 12 thru October 25
Bronxville, New York
Running Girl 16, Steal Home
February 17 thru April 2, 2015
Gallery Bergen
Solo show
Bergen County Community College
Bergen, NJ
Running Girls Series
March 8-11, 2015
CIES Conference: Imagining a Humanist Education Globally
Solo Show
(The Comparative and International Education Society)
Washington Hilton
Washington D.C.
Running Girl Artworks
Invited Guest Speaker (March 8th) as part of International Women's Day
March 27th thru April 2
Conception Gallery
“Woman Up”
Long Island City
New York, NY
Running Girl Artworks
June, July, August 2103
Elements in Balance: Earth, Air, Fire Water
AnnMarie Sculpture Garden, in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Dowell, MD
Kneeler Sculptures
October and November 18, 2012
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument
Sacred Memories, Honoring the Dead Across Cultures,
Juried by the city of Los Angeles Dia de los Muertos Committee
Tsunami – Work on Paper
September and October 2012
Osilas Gallery
Journey of Faith, an exhibition curated by Shanley Hanlon
Bronxville, NY
Hot as Hell – A site-specific installation
April and May 2012
“Flying Machines” -- curated by Staci Offutt and Natalie Conti
Westmoreland County Museum of American Art Biennale
The Headkeeper Gallery
Greensburg, PA
Levitation”– Artworks on Paper
May 2011
A Change of Climate
A month-long exhibition sponsored by Blue Source
New York, NY
Tsunami Series – Artworks on Paper
April 2011
Moi Meme
Solo Exhibition
“Our Majestic Meltdown” – curated by Zev Jonas
Moi Meme Showroom
New York, NY
Artworks on canvas and paper.
2010 and 2011
ArtBridge
A juried NYC public art exhibition
Juror: Guggenheim's David Van Der Leer.
Chelsea Outdoor Billboard Space
New York, NY
Poseidon is Pissed Off, a mixed media painting.
October/November 2010
Art Loop Open – a juried Chicago public art exhibition.
Block 37
Chicago, IL
I would like my life back, says the planet, a site-specific installation
based on BP's Tony Hayward's statement.
May/June 2009
spctclr vws – a month-long exhibition sponsored by Stribling
One Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn, NY
Goodness Won, a site-specific installation.
March/April 2009
Sculpture Key West –a juried exhibition curated by Shamim Momin,
co-curator for the 2008 Whitney Biennale.
Fort Zachary State Park
Key West, Florida
Forcing Goodness, a mixed media sculpture.
February/March 2007
Building Show – a juried exhibition
Exit Art
New York, NY
Long-Winded, an interactive installation.
October 2006
Signatures of Age – a juried exhibition
Womanmade Gallery
Chicago, IL
Emerging, mixed media on canvas.
August/September 2006
Amendicoms Project – a traveling Exhibition, NYC to Israel
Makor Gallery
New York, NY
Winged Peace, mixed media on paper.
July 2006
A.I.R. Gallery
New York, NY
Counting the Days, mixed media on canvas.
April 2006
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Uprising -- Parsons the New School for Design MFA Thesis Show
New York, NY
I do, a mixed media sculpture.
February 2006
Small Axes -- Parsons the New School for Design MFA Show
Heidi Cho Gallery
New York, New York
Mop