Lindsey Dunnagan: Temporal Terrain

September 18, 2025 - March 1, 2026 Admission

“This series is a pleasure project inspired by my childhood of growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, where I spent time by the ocean and watched the sky for the Aurora Borealis. The work takes Alaskan imagery and abstractly layers it in a way that references memory. As my place of origin, it captures a kind of playful magic that I connect with Alaska. When I was a child, my dad gave me a film camera, and I took as many photographs of the landscape as I could. Upon rediscovering this childhood archive in albums and bags, I started to collage the photos with more recent images, making a constructed landscape. In my oil paintings, these landscapes are manipulated and layered to give the instantaneous impression of a place that can only exist in memory. The shape of the panels references a portal that leads to these memories.

Conversely, the mixed media paper artworks are a practice in deconstruction. First, I zoom in on a detail in an oil painting from this series and recreate it on a large sheet of watercolor paper. Next, I cut it into shapes like mountains, glaciers, and fish nets, elements of the Alaskan landscape. This act of creating and destroying a painting in order to make something new allows space for pure play; it is a kind of call and response that is reminiscent of childhood games. Finally, I layer the paper to distort perception. For example, what looks like a shadow is usually on the top layer while what should be positive space is below the surface. The process of making this work parallels my glance back at childhood and its inseparable connection to the Alaskan landscape. By manipulating shapes from the place that I love, the series evokes a Panglossian nostalgia.” -Lindsey Dunnagan

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About the artist:

Lindsey uses diverse techniques to explore human interaction with the natural environment. Her artwork connects humanity to nature in small ways and large. At the intimate level, she tells stories of home and identity. On a larger scale, she considers our spiritual ties to nature. Her work is an investigation of micro and macro personal connections and a reminder of the space we traverse. Lindsey is a three-time Hunting Art Prize Finalist and has shown nationally in solo and juried exhibitions. Her work was published in the 120 West edition of New American Paintings. Lindsey was born in Anchorage, Alaska and eventually moved to Texas where she earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from Texas A&M in 2007. After college, she worked as an architectural intern before deciding to join the US Peace Corps. From 2007 – 2009, Lindsey worked with artisans as a Small Business Development Volunteer in Morocco. In 2014 Lindsey completed a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing and in 2015 she finished a Master of Arts in Art History from Texas Woman’s University. Lindsey is an Associate Professor of Art and runs the painting department at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

For more information about Lindsey Dunnagan and her work, visit her website: https://www.lindseydunnagan.com/.