All the work I create is with smoke made by heating fuel and capturing the results on paper.
Colored smoke, when used alone or juxtaposed with the addition of traditional black smoke, can increase the emotive power present in the work.
Smoke is highly ephemeral. To use smoke as a material of choice produces works that are clearly residing in the outer fringes of materiality, often rendering a fleeting moment at its core.
-Dennis Lee Mitchell, 2021
Recent Solo Exhibitions
2019 “Smoke Remains”, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2018 “Smoke” Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
2017 “Smoke Theory” Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
“Smoke Drawings” William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2015 “Smoke on Paper” Todd Weiner Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri
2014 “Smoke Drawings” William Havu Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2013 “Dennis Lee Mitchell Smoke Drawings,” C. Grimaldis Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland
2012 “Earth and Fire,” Patraidas Contemporary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2011 “Distillation,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2009 “Origin,” Alcoma Gallery, Athens, Greece
2008 “Human Nature,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2007 “Material Transformation,” Kemper Art Gallery, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
2006 “Sense of Origin,” Clarke House Museum, Chicago, Illinois
“Source,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2005 “Manifest,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2004 “Sculptures,” Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa
“New Works,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2001 “Sculptures,” Amalgama Gallery, Thessaloniki, Greece
Recent Group Exhibitions
2019 Neptune/Brown Gallery, Washington D.C.
2018 Heather Gaudio Gallery, New Canaan, Connecticut
2016 U.S. State Department, Art in Embassy Exhibition, U.S.
Embassy, Ankara, Turkey
2015 “Two Person Show”, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
U.S. State Department, Art in Embassy Exhibition, Curated by Sara Tanguy, U.S. Embassy, Ankara, Turkey
2014 “New Media Exploration,” University of St. Francis, University Art Gallery, Fort Wayne, Indiana
2013 “Mighty Small,” Patraidas Contemporary, Ogden, Utah
2012 “Dennis Lee Mitchell/Olivia Petraides/Lisa Sambor,” Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, Illinois
“We Find Our Way,” Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, New Jersey
2011 “Sculpture Today: New Forces, New Forms,” Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2010 CAA Seoul 2010, Kepco Art Center, Seoul, South Korea
The Chicago Art Loop Open, Chicago, IL
NCECA 2010 Invitational, Moore Galleries, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
“Trompe L’Oeil,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, California
2009 “Considering Spring,” Pacini Lubel Gallery, Seattle, Washington
“Perspective,” Function Art, Chicago, IL
The 5th World Contemporary Ceramic Biennale, Icheon-city South Korea
2008 “The Leaf and the Page,” Illinois State Museum, Chicago, IL
“Revisions,” Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL
“Trompe L’Oeil,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, California
2007 Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju City, Chungbuk, South Korea, Honorable Mention
“Botanical,” Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Sculpture Invasion,” Koehnline Museum of Art, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL
“Contemporary,” Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, IL
Art XIII, Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, California
21st International Juried Exhibition, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit, NJ
“Match,” Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2006 “Ingrained Passion,” Function + Art, Chicago, Illinois
Krasl Biennial Sculpture Invitational, Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, Michigan
Rockford Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Museum of Art, Rockford, IL
“30 Ceramic Sculptors,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
“Nature/Culture,” Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Chicago Sculptors Biennale, Flatfile Galleries, Chicago, IL
Biennale, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
“People of the Mud: A Look at Chicago Ceramics,” Chicago Tourism Center, Chicago, Illinois
Public Collections
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
Illinois State Art Museum, Chicago, Illinois
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, Illinois
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Valley State University Collection, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri
Arizona State University Art Museum, Ceramics Research Center, Tempe, Arizona
Deloitte & Touche Collection, Chicago, Illinois
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana
Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois
Illinois Collection for the State of Illinois Center, Chicago, Illinois
Education
1971 Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
1969 Master of Arts in Ceramics, Fort Hays Kansas State University, Hays, Kansas
1968 Bachelor of Arts, Fort Hays Kansas State University, Hays, Kansas