Terri Bright

Professor of Art

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Terri Bright is a fine art photographer whose work focuses on the articulation of non-traditional beauty. With a background in painting, she now uses the camera to create images of quiet, contemplative spaces.

Born in Pennsylvania, Bright lived and worked in New York City and Osaka, Japan prior to attending graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. At Furman University she is responsible for teaching and developing the photography curriculum within the Art Department. Bright's teaching load includes Darkroom/Analog Photography, Color & Digital Printing, The Photographic Essay, Study Away Photography (Southern Africa and British Isles programs), and Senior Seminar for Studio Art Majors.

Her work has been included in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S. In 2006, she received a full-year Sabbatical Grant funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Her monograph, Sonnets, was published by Flash Powder Projects (now Yoffy Press) in 2016.

Honors

  • Luce Foundation, LIASE Faculty Fellows Program to China, 2019.
  • Award of Excellence, Artists of the Upstate, Artisphere, 2018.
  • Best in Show, Artists of the Upstate, Artisphere, (2017, 2016).
  • Semifinalist, 91rst International Competition, The Print Center, Philadelphia, 2017.
  • Research & Professional Growth Grant, Furman University (2017, 2014-15, 2012, 2005-07).
  • Flash Powder Retreat, invited participant, 2015.
  • Artistic Development Grant, Metropolitan Arts Council with funding by SC Arts Commission (2015, 2005).
  • Mellon CAP Sabbatical Grant, funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a full-year sabbatical, 2005-06.
  • Faculty Development Grant, Furman University (2005, 2002).
  • Portfolio Merit Award, Juried Exhibition, The Houston Center for Photography, 2002.
  • International Faculty Seminar in Jamaica and Cuba, invited participant, funded by the Duke Endowment to Furman University, 2001.
  • Juror Award, The Art of Photography, Armory Art Center, 2000.
  • Marshall F. Wells Grant for MFA students, The University of Texas at Austin, 1998.
  • Juror Award, Texas Photographic Society: 7th Annual Exhibition, Southwest School of Art & Craft, 1998.
  • College of Fine Arts Travel Grant, The University of Texas at Austin, 1997

Education

  • M.F.A., University of Texas at Austin
  • B.A., Connecticut College

Research

My photographic work focuses on the articulation of non-traditional beauty. With a background in painting, I use the camera to create quiet, lyrical narratives from the everyday – inorganic forms disclose life-like characteristics, randomly placed objects seem purposeful, bent frames become graceful. These images are like small meditations, granting permission to pause, and creating space for contemplation. Forgotten items and ordinary spaces possess a kind of wilted beauty that alternately suggest playfulness, tranquility, melancholy and desire.

Publications

  • Sonnets: Photographs by Terri Bright. Published by Flash Powder Projects (now Yoffy Press: Atlanta), ISBN: 978-1-943948-03-1, Edition of 500, 2016;

Portfolio

View my work.

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