Enveloped in an inverted world, my work drills into the shaky ground of mourning and the political implications of unresolved grief. I use labor-intensive methods as a meditation to alter the world's noise and create a space of quietude. Curiosity drives my navigation into the complex emotional states of mourning, while personal rituals and objects made in the studio are conduits for connection to a diverse and grieving community. I view grief as a sacred art and embracing the emotional messiness of loss as a spiritual practice. Through public engagement, talks, workshops, and exhibitions, I aim to offer pathways for others to fully embrace their grief and its impact and discover ways to foster healing and resilience.
self-portrait in sand, 2021
Connie Noyes, born in Washington, DC, received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1981) and her Masters in psychology and art therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California (1994).
Noyes gained international recognition as a selected artist for Art Abu Dhabi and Art Bahrain, representing Salwa Zeidan Gallery in the UAE and through participation in the TransArt summer program in Berlin, Germany; selected artist residencies at Arteles, Finland, CAMP, France, ChaNorth, New York; the Emaar International Art Symposium, Dubai, UAE; and Thupelo International Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa. Her work has been in exhibitions in Paris and Grenoble, France, Innsbruck, Austria, Munich, Germany, Dubai, UAE and Bangi, Malaysia. In the US, recent exhibitions include, a collaboration with sound artist Beth Bradfish, "Untied|United" (2018) on Governors Island, New York , "we are built in water" (2022), Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL. and A(mend)ed (2019), Wedge Projects, Chicago, IL. She was recently awarded the Cabins Haystack Residency Fellowship (2022), Norfolk, CT and received Department of Cultural Affairs Artist Grants from the City of Chicago (2018 and 2019). Her project, "Under the Freeway," was a featured project for "The City as Studio" during Chicago Artists Month (2015). Noyes' work is in the collections of The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, Illinois; The Ekstrom Library of Photographic Archives Special Collections, Louisville, Kentucky; Rhode Island School of Design and the Greenville County Museum, South Carolina.
Additional life experiences which fuel Noyes' work include training as a death doula, and in the Grief Recovery Method and the study of Butoh- the dance of darkness. She is a licensed psychotherapist and registered art therapist in the state of Illinois. She currently lives and works in Chicago.