Faculty Profile for Beverly Penn

profile photo for Beverly Penn
Beverly Penn
Distinguished Professor Emerita — School of Art and Design
JCM 1122
phone: (512) 245-2611

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Beverly Penn’s sculpture explores the contradicting need to both idealize and modify the natural environment. She was recently awarded a 2017 Louis Comfort Tiffany Artist Grand and was recently selected by the Texas Commission on the Arts as the State of Texas 3D Artist of 2017. Penn’s sculptures are included in the collections of the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Contemporary Austin; the Moody Foundation; the Racine Art Museum; the El Paso Museum of Art; and the Monarch Center for Contemporary Art in Washington. She has been commissioned for several Public Art Projects, including Unity in Diversity in Las Cruces, NM; the Community Core Sample Project and the Threshold Project with Steve Wiman in Austin; the Natives Project at Whole Foods in Austin; and the 719 Ash Hilton Hotel and the Carte Hilton, both in San Diego. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships including a Rockefeller Foundation residency in Bellagio, Italy; a Fulbright Fellowship in Barcelona, Spain: and a Connemara Conservancy Artist Grant. She has also received nine Texas State University Faculty Research Grants involving research in Mexico, Italy, Spain, and New York. She is a tenured Professor in the School of Art & Design at Texas State University. Lisa Sette Gallery in Phoenix, William Campbell Contemporary Art in Fort Worth, and Flatbed Press in Austin represent her work.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Penn, B., Ramljak, S., Moore, K., & Wright, M. (n.d.). Beverly Penn:  Foregrounding. San Antonio, Texas, US: French & Michigan.
  • American Jewelry: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery. Yale University Art Gallery. September 2022 - December 2022 Artists: Group (National)
    Schedule:
    • National Group Exhibition. December 2022 Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
    • (Invited) Reviewed by: Ursula Ilse-Neuman.
    • Reviewed by: Alexandra Ward.
  • Umbel III. Phoenix, AZ. Corporate. March 2022 - October 2022, Bronze.
  • Beverly Penn: Radical Adaptation. Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix, AZ. December 2021 - February 2022 Artists: Solo (National)
    Schedule:
    • National Solo Exhibition. 2021 - 2022 Phoenix, AZ.
    • (Invited) Reviewed by: Megan Bates.
  • Beverly Penn: Foregrounding. Michelson Museum of Art, Marshall, TX. 2021 Artists: Solo (Regional)
    Schedule:
    • Regional Solo Exhibition. 2021 Texas.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Professor Emerita, Texas State University. September 1, 2022 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Lone Star Art District Daily Artist, Blue Star Contemporary. 2020
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Texas State Visual Artist 3D 2021, Texas Commission on the Arts. 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Faculty Developmental Leave. 2019 - 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Louis Comfort Tiffany Artist Award, Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, American Federation for the Arts. December 2017 - 2019

Selected Grants

  • Penn, Beverly. Triskelion, Private / Foundation / Corporate. (Funded: May 2021 - September 2021). Grant.
  • DesChamps-Benke, Nicole (Principal), Datchuk, Jennifer L (Co-Principal), Penn, Beverly (Co-Principal). Teaching and Learning Technology Innovation Grant, Division of Information Technology, Texas State University, $4349.99. (Funded: November 2020 - 2022). Grant.
  • Penn, Beverly. Faculty Development Leave, Texas State University, Texas State University. (Funded: August 2019 - May 2020). Grant.
  • Penn, Beverly (Principal). Carte Hilton Hotel Plaza, City of San Diego Art in Public Places Program, Private / Foundation / Corporate. (Funded: June 2017 - March 2020). Grant.
  • Penn, Beverly (Principal). School of Art and Design Lecture Series Grant for Demi Thomloudis, Texas State University. (Funded: March 2017). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Volunteer
Hand Medal Project: Postcard Project
2021-2022
Chair
Faculty Awards Committee
August 2020-2022
Assistant Troop Leader
Austin Area Girls Scout Troop #2203
2019-2022
Volunteer
Volunteer Deputy Registrar for Voter Registration, Travis and Hayes County
2016-2022
Head of Metals Specialization, Facility, Curriculum, Faculty, Staff, Students
Metals Specialization
January 1, 1990-2022