Artist Bio:
Megan Frauenhoffer is a visual artist originating from St. Louis, Missouri. In May 2010, she completed the Master’s in Visual Studies at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her drawings and paintings explore the ideas of subconscious fears and transformative narratives.
Outside of making art, Megan teaches per course classes at the local colleges and is working on her first webcomic. Megan lives with her husband, two dogs, and four cats and teaches college level art classes.
Artist Statement:
My paintings explore emotions that hide between reality and the subconscious. Through the use of fairy tales and invented narratives, the images become a meditation over various emotional states such as confusion, anger, grief, or loneliness. These emotional dwellings are projected around a central heroic figure. The feelings fester and manifest as fantastical creatures: phantasms of animals spirits, doppelgängers, and hybrid monsters. These apparitions become a catalyst for change, empowering or overwhelming the hero. The audience catches them in a critical moment where the next choice seals their fate.

Hidden beyond the fairy tale façade is a personal journey. These painting and drawings explore my own struggles with mortality and loss. Similar to how most fairytales deal with dark beginnings, where characters seek their own redemption, these images help me sift through dark emotions with my mother’s death from cancer. The frequent use of skulls is a motif I use for both death and the mental struggles dealing with loss. Monsters with grotesque mutations become the physical manisfestation of a losing battle, whether that is with personal stories or universal injustices that occur to others. 

I investigate these notions through a combination of illustrative detailing, intense color schemes, and dark imagery. A ghostly and otherworldly state is evoked to create the feeling of a dream and intentionally blur the lines between magic and madness. These surreal and lonesome dreamscapes invite the viewers to engage in their own interpretations. As the viewer watches the hero struggle, they must recall their own emotional states, possibly mirroring the dark places that are normally kept hidden deep inside.
Curriculum Vitae: 
Education:
2015       Fall Mentorship with artist Rebecca Leveille Guay
2010      MFA, Visual Studies- Printmaking and Drawing, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
2007      BFA, Studio Art- Printmaking, Missouri State University
Selected Exhibitions:
2019
The Venus Show, La Bodega Gallery, San Diego, CA
2018
Per Course Faculty Show, MSU Student Exhibition Center, Springfield, MO
The Venus Show, La Bodega Gallery, San Diego, CA
Catharsis, Alexi Era Gallery, Eugene, OR
2017
11th Annual Holiday Mini Exhibit, Ghost Gallery, Seattle, WA
The Venus Show, La Bodega Gallery, San Diego, CA
Nuts and Bolts: Skateboard Show,curated by Ryan Wheaton, Pop up show, Springfield, MO
Surreal Salon 9, juried by Greg “Craola” Simkins, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
Nasty Women Exhibition, The Knockdown Center, Queens NYC, NY
2016
Where the Wild Things Are, Swoon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Little Big Art Show, La Bodega Gallery, San Diego, CA
The 4th Annual Coaster Show, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Hollywood, CA
Untamed Fauna: 100 Postcards for Wild Life, Alexi Era Gallery, Eugene, OR
Dark and Obscure, curated by Michael Keen, Art Gym Denver, Denver, CO
Out of the Woods: Fairy Tales Re-imagined, Nave Gallery Annex, Somerville, MA
2015
The Legend of Korra/Avatar: The Last Airbender Tribute Show, Gallery Nucleus, Alhambra, CA
Love/Death/Magic, Solo Show, Arts and Letters Gallery, Springfield, MO
Beauties of the Night, Alexi Era Gallery, Mascoutah, IL
2014
Tiny Pleasures, Hosted by The Art Order during Spectrum Fantastical Art Live 3, Bartle Hall Grand Ballroom, Kansas, MO
Yours Truly: 100 Postcards for Humanity, Alexi Era Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
The Bees Knees: 100 Postcards for Honey Bees and Honey Tasting, Alexi Era Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2013
Nothing Gold Can Stay, Swoon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Knock on Wood, featured artist, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Fabled, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Bittersweet, Squidfoo Gallery, Springfield, MO
Bodies, Lemondrop Gallery, Springfield, MO
The Sketchbook Project 2013 tour, The Brooklyn Art Library/The Sketchbook Project, North America
The State of the States: Relief Portfolio. Wyly Painting Building Pop-Up Gallery, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, CO.
2012
Surreal Salon IV, juried by Casey Weldon, Baton Rouge Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA
6th Annual Summer Juried Art Show, St. Cloud University, St. Cloud, MN
Linearity,curated by Kelly McKernan, Mint Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Glass, Cinder and Thorns 2, curated by April Segedi, 323 East Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
Future Ghosts, solo show, Good Girl Art Gallery, Springfield, MO
Proof of Process: The Art of Printmaking, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO
2011
Multiversal Exhibition 2011, featured artist, hosted during Art Basel Miami, Multiversal Gallery, Miami, FL
Reclaimed Show, curated by Christina and Dennis Jacobs/Perfect Laughter, River’s Edge Gallery, Wyandotte, MI
Urban Roots Exhibition, 323 East Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
Under The Gun, curated by Josh G/Creep Machine, Articulated Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Shared/Space:2, Tarnish & Gold Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Find Art Across America Tour, FIND Art Magazine, United States
States of the State: A Contemporary Survey of American Printmaking, Exhibited with John Hitchcock’s Epicentro: Re Tracing the Plains at the La Biennale di Venezia 54th International Arts Exhibition, The Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Culturali Comparati, University of Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy
2010
Foot in the Door 4, Minneapolis Institute of Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN
Gender Show, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Glass, Cinder & Thorns, 323East Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
MFA Thesis Show, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
SHY Rabbit Print National 2, Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts, Pagosa Springs, CO
States of the State: Survey of American Printmaking Exhibition, Relief Portfolio, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
2009
30th Annual Paper in Particular, Columbia College Missouri, Columbia, MO
Creative Blood, Altered Aesthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Drive By Press Traveling Exhibition, Drive By Press, North America
Los Angeles Printmaking Society 20th National Exhibition, Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
MCAD 09 Get StARTed, Burnet Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Print Zero 6 Traveling Exhibition, North America
Feminality Art Exhibition, The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Multiversal Group Show, American Legion Building, Art Basel at Miami Beach, FL
2008
Print Zero 5 Traveling Exhibition, North America and Naestved, Denmark
Bitter Fruits Show, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2007
Prints U.S.A, 2007, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO
Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Butler & Rosenbury Bldg., Springfield, MO
Publications and Bibliography:
2016           78 Tarot Carnival, artist, 78 Tarot, International
2014           Curvy 9,  featured artist, Curvy World, Sydney, Australia
2013           Nightmarriage, illustration for “Knives and Wives,” Chad Johnston/eLectio Publishing, Kansas City, MO
2013           Paper Darts Vol. 4, contributing art editor, Paper Darts Press, Minneapolis, MN
2011           Get In If You Want To Live, illustration, Paper Darts Press, Minneapolis, MN
2011           Little Constructs Zine, illustration, Little Constructs, Minneapolis, Mn + London, England
2011           Find Art Magazine, Issue #6, Los Angeles, CA
2011           Beautiful/Decay Book 6: “Future Perfect,” selected artist, Beautiful/Decay, June, Los Angeles, CA
2011           Hive 5: A Somewhat Quarterly Comics Anthology, cover illustration, Grimalkin Press, Minneapolis, MN
2010           Altered Esthetics’ 2010 Featured Artist Calendar, March, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2010           Brie Hiramine, Creo Magazine, “Nature vs. Nurture” & ”Interview,” Spring 2010 No. 03, pg 56-7 & 60-1
2009           Los Angeles Printmaking Society, 20th Anniversary Exhibition Catalog, Los Angeles, CA
2007           Moon City Review, Volume 8, Number 1 2007, “White Lights,” MSU, Springfield, MO
Awards and Recognitions:
2010               Minneapolis City Pages’ 100 Creatives, Minneapolis, MN
2010               Altered Esthetics Featured Artist Calendar, Altered Esthetics Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2008-10         MFA Trustee’s Scholarship and MFA Opportunity Grant, MCAD, Minneapolis, MN
2006               Jacqueline Synders Memorial Scholarship, MSU, Springfield, MO
Back to Top