I've been painting on metal, first aluminum and now stainless steel, for over twenty years. Initially drawn to the material because of its slickness as a painting surface, I soon recognized it as a means to capture nature in a contemporary context. By exposing areas of the raw metal substrate, a unique juxtaposition results between the industrial material and my nature-based subject matter. 

Despite our high tech, modern world we are still innately tied to the land. My paintings are about this relationship. They are an exploration of our evolving and often tenuous union with nature as well as our inherent desire to connect with it.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Today I primarily use stainless steel as the support for my landscape paintings. Working on all aspects of the metal myself allows me to control how the exposed borders and shapes interact within the piece. The metal is first cut and then secured to a traditional wood support frame. The areas I wish to remain raw metal are masked while the areas to be painted are prepared using industrial primers. This ensures good adhesion between the paint and metal surfaces. I love the look of the metal’s natural, reflective surface. For this reason I do not coat it with any sealers or varnishes.

The exposed metal is susceptible to scratching and fingerprints will leave a mark. To preserve the metal’s pristine reflective surface, always handle the painting with cotton gloves and clean any fingerprints with water on a microfiber rag. For hard to remove marks, clean the entire metal area with Weiman® Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Mai Wyn Schantz is a 1999 graduate of Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver, Colorado and has been exhibiting professionally for over twenty years. Her work is included in many private and corporate collections including the Weidner Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, Norwestern Mutual Life in Wisconsin, The Crawford Hotel in Denver, Vail Nordic Center in Vail and Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado. In 2006 she was included in her first museum exhibition Up North: Imaging Northwoods Culture and Mythology at the Museum of Wisconsin Art and in 2008, was featured in a solo exhibition at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities in Arvada, Colorado. Most recently she has had solo exhibitions at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO and at the O’Sullivan Gallery on the campus of Regis University in Denver. After an eight-year stint owning a commercial gallery space in the well-knownArt District on Santa Fe Drive in Denver, she is now devoted to art making full-time. She lives in Denver and is represented by Trove Gallery in Park City, Utah.

SELECT SOLO & FEATURED ARTIST EXHIBITIONS
 

January 2023 Still Life, O’Sullivan Gallery, Regis University, Denver, CO

November 2020 Refuge, Art + Soul, Boulder, CO

December 2015 Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver, CO

January 2015 Unbound, Lakewood Civic Center, James J. Richey Gallery Lakewood, CO

October 2014 Wilderness Extractions, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO

September 2013 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

April 2012 Hunters & Gatherers, Space Gallery, Denver, CO

September 2011 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

August 2009 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI

September 2008 Harris Gallery, Houston, TX

October 2007 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI

September 2007 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

October 2007 Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI

August 2005 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

May 2005 Lines of Commitment, Artpost Gallery, Grafton, WI

December 2004 Searching for Blue, Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, Grand Marais, MN

May 2004 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI

September 2003 Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WI

August 2003 Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO

April 2003 Artpost Gallery, Grafton, WI

October 2002 Wisconsin Union Galleries, Madison, WI

July 2001 Zoë Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

November 1999 Guiry Gallery, Denver, CO

August 1999 Z Wick Place, Denver, CO

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2017 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO

June 2016 Weekend in the West Invitational, Evergreen Fine Art, Evergreen, CO

January 2016 Art of the State (juried), Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO

November 2015 Miniature Masterpieces, Evergreen Fine Art, Evergreen, CO

June 2015 Weekend in the West Invitational, Evergreen Fine Art, Evergreen, CO

June 2014 Weekend in the West Invitational, Evergreen Fine Art, Evergreen, CO

November 2013 Wonderlands, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver, CO

September 2013 True Grit, Mai Wyn Fine Art, Denver, CO

January 2010 Ice Breaker (juried), Ice Cube Gallery. Denver, CO

June 2007 In Focus, Sandra Phillips Gallery, Denver, CO

August 2006 Alumni Exhibition (invited) Philip J. Steele Gallery, RMCAD, Denver, CO

December 2005 One & Only, JMKAC ArtSpace, Kohler, WI

December 2005 Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

October 2005 4th Annual Founders Exhibit, Artpost, Grafton, WI

October 2004 3rd Annual Founders Exhibit, Artpost, Grafton, WI

January 2004 Zoe Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

October 2003 Artpost, 2nd Annual Founders Exhibit, Grafton, WI

October 2003 Annual Juried Show, Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI

April 2003 Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

October 2002 Artpost Gallery, Grafton, WI

September 2002 Annual Juried Show, Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI

March 2001 Emerging Artists, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

MUSEUM & ART CENTER EXHIBITIONS
 

July 2018 Solo exhibition, Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO

September 2014 Discovering & Interpreting the West: 19th, 20th & 21st Century Landscapes (group), Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO

January 2013 State of the Arts (juried), Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO

June 2011 National Contemporary Exhibition (invited),Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO

April 2009 Colorado Art Open (juried), Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO

September 2008 Paddling Upstream (solo), Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, CO

September 2007 (solo) Cedarburg Cultural Center, Cedarburg, WI

August 2006 Up North: Imaging Northwoods Culture & Mythology (group), West Bend Art Museum, Up North, West Bend, WI

March 2005 8 Counties (juried), John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI

June 2001 8 Counties (juried), John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI

January 2001 RMCAD alumni (group), Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO

PUBLICATIONS & INTERVIEWS

Denver Life Magazine, January 2019

Cowboys & Indians Magazine, April 2015, Featured artist

Beyond the Gallery: Season 2, web television interview

Untitled Art Show, June 19, 2013 Live internet radio interview

Untitled Art Show, April 25, 2012 Live internet radio interview

Porcupine Literary Arts Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 1
Cover artist and featured portfolio artist

GALLERY REPRESENTATION

Trove Gallery, Park City, UT

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

All Saints Hospital - St. Luke’s Health Pavilion, Racine, WI

Alverno College - Sacajawea Award Commission, Milwaukee, WI

Aurora Arts Council, Aurora, CO

Chevron - Houston, TX

Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital - Denver, CO

Four Seasons Resort & Residences - Vail, CO

KTNV - Las Vegas, NV

KRG Capirot

Lockton Company, Denver, CO

Northwestern Mutual Life, Franklin, WI

Perkins Coie - Denver, CO

Plexus Global Headquarters, Neenah, WI

Port Washington State Bank, Grafton, WI

Roth Gerber, Denver, CO

Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee, WI

Vail Nordic Center, Vail, CO

Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, UW-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI

West Bend Mutual Insurance, West Bend, WI

EDUCATION

August 1999 BFA / Painting & Drawing, Valedictorian

Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design Denver, CO