During the summer of 2021, Brooklyn based painter and professor Nat Meade was in residence at the James Castle House. Meade uses his work to reflect on the complex feelings that surround the experience of moving through different phases of life. The figures in Meade’s paintings become stand-ins for himself in his investigation of the experience of becoming an adult, husband, and parent, each character viewed through the dual lens of self-scrutiny and societal expectation.
Like the self-taught artist James Castle (1899 – 1977), Meade generates many versions of the same motif, working on an image again and again uncovering slight variations from once piece to the next. Some of Nat Meade's recent works were created during the 10 week residency at the James Castle House (Boise, ID).
Meade received his BFA from the University of Oregon and his MFA from Pratt Institute. His work has shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally, and has been reviewed in publications such as Art Forum, Juxtapoz, The Boston Globe, and Hyperallergic. Meade is an instructor of painting and drawing at Pratt Institute, where he also serves as the Assistant Chairperson of Fine Arts.
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About the James Castle House and Residency
Serving as a testament to the life and work of American artist James Castle, and rooted in Castle’s sense of wonder and discovery, the house today is a center for contemporary and historical exhibitions, tours, performances, talks, residencies, and community partnerships.
Creativity dwells between the floor joists, the wallpaper and the ceiling boards. Naturally curious and observant, Castle endlessly investigated his environment and material world, inventing tools and techniques for the creation of his work. His methodical and experimental approach led to the creation of thousands of works of art, spanning a wide range of aesthetic and conceptual styles that have served as an inspiration to artists and scholars for decades. Residency programs are designed to provide time and space for the experimentation and research necessary to complete a project that is rooted in the history and legacy of James Castle or the site. Projects may be creative, scholarly, or curatorial, but must be focused on the generation of a final product that contributes to our understanding of the site. No aesthetic connection to James Castle’s work is necessary.