Bridget Mantasoot received her BFA from Columbia College Chicago in 2000. While in school, she has received several awards and scholarships. Mantasoot exhibited in 10 student shows including the Columbia College Student Awards Exhibition where she won the Presidential Recognition Award. Since graduating, she has displayed her work throughout the Chicago land area. She has exhibited in 22 professional shows in a variety of venues including galleries, cafés, nightclubs, churches, and theater. Some notable galleries are ARC Gallery, the Nicole Gallery, the Art Institute’s 3rd Floor Gallery, and Willow Creek Church. She has also worked as a graphic designer; a muralist; and a commissioned painter, sculptor, and bookmaker for 5 years. Mantasoot and Pa, her father, are currently pitching their children’s book Slator Alligator. In her free time, she participates in community building and social justice groups like the Chicago Artist Coalition, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Artists in Action, and the Studio at the Creek.
Her main inspirations come from life experiences and stories. She is influenced by the surrealists, the cubists, and the abstract expressionists. She has a passion to see art and artists spilling beyond the canvas into the world, vanquishing poverty, and releasing poverty-stricken children from bondage.
“…life is more than just survival. Always live to thrive, not just to survive in a mean hole in the ground, but to thrive with passion and compassion and humor and style…”
-Maya Angelou
Every Christmas between ages 5 and 15, my older brother and I received a fresh sketchbook from our parents. I’ve loved creating - no matter what medium - from mud, stones, sticks, and grass to oils, acrylics, ink, and canvas. And whatever form it took - small tree houses and sand castles or detailed paintings on canvas or wood. I grew up visiting the museums and galleries of Chicago, as well as road tripping around the country with my family. It was important to my parents that we learn, experience, explore, and play… that we thrive.
Traveling expands my view and voice. This world continues to amaze me, from the awesome quietness of a Redwood forest down to the smallest cracks of a Puebla street. Along with much of the States, I have had the opportunity to visit Thailand and Mexico to see and experience the sorrow and delight in other cultures. Several pieces were born out of these trips. I am passionate about social justice and continue to create pieces that comment on life’s struggles and joys. I find my work isn’t always “beautiful” like a landscape or flower arrangement, but it does evoke emotion and thought.
There is a deep inner stirring that calls me to continue to create. Like an addiction, I think about the new piece I’m about to start or how I can better the current painting …all day and every day. In the midst of creating I feel a great sense of freedom. I believe it is one of the few times I am honestly living in the moment. The rest of the world falls away. It’s the canvas, the paint, the quiet, and me.
· Chicago Art Open October 17 - November 3, 2006
Sponsored by Chicago Artists' Coalition and exhibited at Zhou B. Art Center
· EFCN of Naperville September 16 - October 20, 2006
Solo show in atrium
· National City Bank Exhibit August 16 - October 1, 2006
Solo show in bank at corner of Grand Ave. and State St.
· Beyond Words : Artists' Books Exhibition November 30, 2006 - February 12, 2007
Exhibited at University Art Gallery, University of the South, TN
· Greektown Urn Project June - August 2006
On sidewalks of Halsted between Madison and Jackson
· Cafe Ciao May 12- June 12, 2006
Solo show in West Loop, Chicago
· "Summer of Love" group show April - June 2006
Exhibited at John Galt Gallery, Chicago
· Martini Room April 12 - 19, 2006
Solo show in Elgin, IL
· "Redemption" group show March - May 2006
Exhibited at Heir Gallery, Chicago
· “I Have a Dream” group show February 2006
Exhibited at the ARC Gallery, River West Gallery District, Chicago
· Chicago Art Open October 2005
Sponsored by Chicago Artists’ Coalition and exhibited in the Art Institute’s 3rd Floor Gallery, Chicago
· WCCC Arts Conference Gallery June 2005
· Gallery 150 1st - 7th Annual Art Exhibit 1999 - 2004
· Chicago Art Open October 2001
Sponsored by Chicago Artists’ Coalition and exhibited in the Art Institute’s 3rd Floor Gallery, Chicago
· Art of the Mission Nightclub January 2001
Solo show in Elgin, IL
· Barrington Area Arts Council Exhibit January 2001
Solo show in Barrington, IL
· Columbia College Chicago Student Honors Exhibition May 19 - June 2, 2000
· Fra Angelico Art Exhibit April 28 - May 6, 2000
Exhibited at the Nicole Gallery, River North Gallery District, Chicago
· Columbia College Chicago Senior Portfolio Show April 21 - May 5, 2000
· Columbia College Chicago Senior Fine Art Show April 24 - June 4, 2000
· Chicago Art Open November 12 - 20, 1999
Sponsored by Chicago Artists’ Coalition and exhibited in the Art Institute’s 3rd Floor Gallery, Chicago
· Graceland Café December 1999 and March 2000
Solo show of paintings, prints, and ceramics
FREELANCE WORK:
· Mural Carpentersville residence August 2006
· Paintings for White Horse Theatre Company production February 2006
Viaduct Theater, Chicago - "The Cradle will Rock"
· Fine art “Thank You” book collection with box November 2005
· Drawings used in multimedia program WCCC September 2001 and 2000
· Movable Mural IL DST. 54 preschool classroom August 2000
· Mural N. Barrington residence February 1 - 8, 2000
· Mural Galyan’s Sporting Goods in Schaumburg, IL August - October 1999
· Mural Park Ridge Youth Campus Maine Township DST. 207 May 1997
· Mural Schaumburg, IL residence April 1996
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
· Chicago Artists’ Coalition
· Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
EDUCATION:
Columbia College Chicago
Bachelor of Arts concentration in illustration and fine art June 2000
